OT: Bryant Gumbel Soccer rant
For your commentary -
“Finally tonight, a few words about this year’s World Cup. I confess that I love everything about it, particularly, those aspects that many Americans are whining about. Where the game is concerned, I love that they have running time and don’t compromise the flow for the sake of TV commercials. I love that the referees don’t stop the action to let replays warp their beautiful game and I love that their announcers, unlike Americans, don’t feel the need to characterize everything that’s surprising as also unbelievable. As for the players, I love how they mimic NBA stars and go down dramatically, as if they have been shot whenever they are fouled. I love the single names: Ronaldo, Kaka, Drogba — all of which sound a lot more elegant than Manny, Pudge and Big Baby. And, I love the national pride that is shown each game. It’s real and it’s genuine, the kind the Olympics tries to force on us every four years. Off the field, I love how the crowds never stoop to something as silly as ‘the wave.’ I love the purity of their sidelines — no hangers on, no mascots and best of all, no cheerleaders. I even love the vuvuzelas. Yes, they are noisy, but they are preferable to the deafening din of the weekly Billy Bob 500, or the phony piped in efforts at U.S. arenas, where choreographed chants of ‘dee-fense’ pass for originality. Lastly, I love that at the World Cup, there are sporting people representing cultures from all over the world and befitting grownups, not a one of them seems obsessed with what conference Texas plays in, whether Brett Favre ever comes back, or where LeBron James ultimately goes. At least we’ve one pocket of sanity, if only for two more weeks.”
http://sportsmedianews.com/06/bryant-gumbel-closing-commentary-on-real-… (It's back to off-topic now that said the WC coverage has ended according to Brian, right?)
Funny thing is when they put the stretcher down on the sideline the guy just stood up. I lost any of the respect that I had gained for soccer when that happened.
1. a running clock - and no one know how much time is left until the ref decides to blow the whistle.
2. they mimic nba stars when they go down dramatically - another great example of sportsmanship. rasheed doesn't hold a candle to any of those bad actors.
3. better names? seriously? - Kaka. ya, i agree with that one.
4. national pride - yes, it's always good to hear about the death threats made to soccer players who made a bad play. Or even the fans who actually kill each other.
5. and for those who don't care about favre or labron - well, we don't care about ronaldo, kaka or drogba, either. but i'll tell you this, if labron walked down pickadilli circus, a lot of people would recognize him. ronaldo could could by me a beer and i wouldn't know who the hell he is.
i can appreciate soccer, but i really don't need to hear or read this drivel; especially from self-righteous egoist such as bryant gumble; whose own family hates him.
trying to +1 you more. Excellent post.
There's just something about Gumbel that irritates the hell out of me. This piece doesn't help that in the least.
journalist, I'm glad that he doesn't contribute to ant of the negative sporting issues associated with Americans.
Bryant Gumbel is and always will be a pompous asshole. His swipe at Nascar and what he paints as the common American sports fan is an attempt to point out to the viewer what a refined renaissance man that sits before them. Gumbel strikes me as a man who lectures those who don't own hybrids or are not familiar with the painting he just bought.
as I have a two year old and there is nothing like waking up saturday morning and watching an EPL game. I never watched before last August,thinking soccer was a lame sport, but boy was I wrong. I like the fact that there are no commercials, love the atmosphere, and games are quick.
I have never been a baseball fan, and unless I am at a game, I can't make it through a game without falling asleep, or watching something else. Plus I don't have 3+ hours to waste on a game, especially when teams play 162 of them. Plus the so-called athletes that play the sport have guts bigger than my 60 yr old dad.
The only sports I make it a point to watch is college football and EPL & champions league soccer. Hell, I played college basketball, but I have a hard time watching basketball anymore.
Could Gumble's rant be more condescending?
all of my children played soccer...until they were old enough for good sports like basketball & football. once they got into those, they didnt give a rip about soccer.
Yes, they are noisy, but they are preferable to the deafening din of the weekly Billy Bob 500
billy bob 500? why doesnt he just call it the 'white-trash bubba 500'?
But yeah, that was a thinly disguised racist comment. Imagine if Bob Costas called the NBA "Anfernee Ball".
I'm not sure many soccer-hatin' Americans would classify Nascar as anything but white trash.
always has, always will be. I also hate the diving, it is the worst part of soccer.
My pet theory has nothing to do with how fun the game is to watch but rather the lack of juicy statistics. You look at baseball, you have a cornacopia of statistics - who does what against lefties vs righties, etc. Same with Football. Basketball, you have shot percentages to play with. Hockey? Not as many statistics, but also not as widespread in popularity.
I think the more you're able to obsess over the small things in a sport the more lasting the impression of the sport.
Or everything I just said could all be a load of crap.
Thank you for reading.
True or not, I think that's a fair argument.
FWIW, I think it's a combination of athleticism (or perceived athleticism), strategy (or perceived strategy), and scoring.
For instance, hockey has athleticism, but hockey strategy isn't for casual fans and the scoring is lower than the other sports (that being said, hockey is my favorite sport).
Basketball showcases athleticism and has tons of scoring.
Baseball has strategy & scoring (until this season).
Football has a combination of all three: athleticism, strategy, and scoring.
Soccer? Perceived athleticism: marginal. Perceived strategy: like hockey, only for hard core fans. Scoring: almost none.
i would guess that the crowds at the world cup are similar to those at all-star games or the super bowl here - pretty sanitized. far from the more working class fans who can't afford to travel or take time off who generally pave the streets around the stadium with puke after matches. there is only one sport whose fans are known as hooligans, so saying that the entire sports' fans are polite non-wavers is a bit much.
less commercials - yes please! college basketball has been destroyed by the ridiculous 4 minute timeout thing. unwatchable.
What's stunning is the entire globe accepts this as part of the game. It takes a bit of a suspension of reason for a sports fan to watch that and assume it's OK. The absolute pussy-ness of it.
It's comforting in a way - proof that everyone else is as delusional as we can be.
Everything else I can live with, and even in spite of it I've enjoyed watching the games
an adequate response at cocktail parties when I've been asked how Bryant Gumbel feels about the beautiful game. I've lost count on how many times this has come up, and no other question has made for more awkward moments in my life. I once even feigned appendicitis and doubled over as if stabbed in the spleen to avoid tipping off my ignorance to Bryant's futbol opinions. Well, no more. The world is again spinning on plane, and I will soon be winning friends and influencing people again. Thanks for finally sharing your deep thoughts, Bryant.
i actually read this post using a high-pitched popous harvard voice. i reads much better that way.
Frazier Crane.
They do the wave at almost every match, what World Cup has he been watching? It's hilarious because the British announcers always refer to it as "The Mexican Wave." My friends and I have been debating why they call it that for weeks.
The Wave originated in the U.S. in the early 1980s, and quickly spread to Mexico and Canada. When Mexico hosted the 1986 World Cup, it was introduced to the rest of the world, and hence has earned the "Mexican" moniker (kind of how the Spanish flu got that name not because it started there but because it gained more early media attention there).
only 68 days till real football...
Bryant Gumbel is clearly better than all of us. We all need to try to be more like him.
Granted, his level of perfection is not attainable for normal people, but over time we may be able to asymptotically approach it.
lim t->infinity me(t) = Bryant Gumbel
Looks like the math checks out...
While the Bryant Gumbel statement is technically a rant, I was really hoping for some soccer bashing... Not a defense which cites every reason I hate the sport.
In all fairness, I LOVE no commercial breaks. Every sport could learn something from that.
I thought you were dead.
Bryant: "Yeah, you and everybody else! "
I'm pretty sure Didier Drogba uses his whole name, but you know, whatever.
Well we all know what Kaka means en espanol...