I support this petition. Derek Rae does a great job with European cup games on ESPN. (I could do without Tommy Smyth, though.) O'Brien has shown a lack of basic understanding. And no Brent Musberger, either.
I support this petition. It is absurd that the worldwide leader in sports would allow someone who is unfamiliar with the sport to continue commentating
I support this petition. Hire one announcer whose sole job it is to say who just touched the ball. Nothing else. Let the color commentator add detail, but not interfere the announcer. The way it is done in England.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. There are millions of us in this country who love the game, understand the game, and will be discusted if another broacast goes by commentated on by the clueless old hacks you have working the MLS and US games
I support this petition. Would ESPN hire Tommy Smyth to announce baseball? I don't think so. Why do they have to make me suffer through more boring ESPN announcers. I wouldnt have those idiots announce a cock fight in Thailand. ESPN needs to show that they are the world leader in sports by helping us out and getting better announcers. Hire an EPL announcers that doesn't have a contract with one of the commpetitors.
I support this petition. This is the WORLD CUP not the NFL, MLB, NBA or college sports where we need to everything on the athletes. I don't need to know that Joe Smoe had athletes foot two weeks ago and that it almost hurt his chances of making the squad. Get announcers to call the games so that we can enjoy the games. Listen to the English announcers for clues as to what should be said. If they don't make the changes I will more than likely watch the games with the mute on.
I support this petition. I'd rather have my spanish teacher translate every word that the Univision announcers spit out than listen to the snooze-fest that ESPN will show; I'll even do it without getting extra credit. Thats how serious I am.
I support this petition. The World Cup is too important to leave it in the hands of people with no connection to the sport. Derek Rae, Tommy Symth, Ian Healy should be the core. They know the game intimately and know how to convey that to the audience. Thanks.
I support this petition. Please don't force me to use my 2 years of high school spanish to try and decipher the passionate commentary on your competition for viewers, Univision. I would much rather luxuriate in the verbal stylings of Mr. Derek Rae and the sometimes annoying, but often funny Tommy Smyth. I would of course also support your sponsors as well.
I support this petition.
Keep Brent Musberger off of my television for the World Cup, please please please
Brent Musberger is to the Generation X/Y crowd about the equivalent of us watching Dan Rather - it isn't going to happen...
I support this petition.
Soccer is the worlds most followed sport, I don't know how an internationaal in a nation of immigrants, this channel continue to ingnore and insult new potential customers, not including the growing number of domestic soccer fans and viewers.
This is the most watched event in history. Please give it the respect it deserves. Use commentators that are experienced and Eloquent. Dexterity with language is a gift and your MLS guys don't have it! Please use the Champions League crews!
I support this petition, and Derek and Tommy. Skill on the field does not equal verbal skill in the commentators booth. Marcello and and Eric should learn that. All things take practice, and we as viewers are not interested in on the job training.
I support this petition. Bring ESPN's coverage of Soccer on par with the rest of your coverage. The Champions League broadcasts are amazing. Use those commentators over your less experienced MLS guys and bring your Wold Cup coverage to a level it deserves.
I support this petition.
I will be watching the World Cup coverage on Spanish television even though I might not understand, but it still will be a lot better than the wanker of a lineup that's proposed. Please reconsider the coverage lineup. Derek Rae, Tommy Smith, Ian Healy for all coverage please.
I support this petition. With as much fanfare ESPN makes with there MNF announcers, you'd think they would understand the importance of qualified announcers. Your entire industry is based on competent media coverage. Please provide it.
I appreciate the fact you will bring all the matches to the U.S. I think that the current announcers are a talented group. However, they have no business broadcasting a world Cup soccer match. Please get somebody who knows the sport. PLEASE! (ok - pretty please). Once again, thanks for broadcasting the cup - that is what is truly important.
I support this petition. Is there any hope for the growth of soccer in this country? I was born in the US. I grew up in the US. I've never even left the country, and it will kill me to have to listen to another telecast where the commentators dumb down the action and simplify it to a 3rd grade level. Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth are an amazing team and I have no problem understanding the game through their accents despite living in Kentucky! Your continued use of moronic commentators is killing the growth of soccer in the US and decreasing your ADD REVENUE!!!! Wise up or sell the broadcast rights to someone who cares!!
I support this petition. It may be time to brush up on my Spanish because its UNIVISION for me if we are going to be stuck with such dismal commentary on English-language World Cup broadcasting.
I support this petition.
Please consider using Derek Rae, Tommy Smith, Adrian Healey and Seamus Malin from your outstanding Champions League broadcasts. Also, please consider bringing in ESPN Radio's (Pittsburgh host)Mark Madden to work as in studio analyst. Madden would bring humor, a passion for the sport and honest fan based analysis.
Thank you for your consideration.
JT
Chicago
Worldwide leader in sports? Get real. I simply switch to Telemundo or Univision and watch in a language i don't understand. I just don't get how you ESPN heads can be so illogical in their choices, and disrespectful of the most watched game in the world. . . will you have fishing's Babe Winkelman doing Poker next?? Ugh.
I support this petition. Derek Rae and Tommy Smith are the best team that ESPN have. They should do the FINAL. Last week Dave Obrien's commentary was terrible. Please get better announcers that are fitting of the greatest sporting event in the world and know something about soccer.... even if they are not Americans.
Rob Stone, Eric Wynalda, JP Dellacamera, Marcello Balboa, Dave Obrien are all Horrific and Painful!!!!! Just because you played the game does not necessarily make you a commentator!!!! If you use them I will not watch your channel and i will not support the companies that sponsor your broadcast. I suggest Derek Rae, Tommy Smyth, Healey, or the European English language audio feeds.
I support this petition. As a person growing up in the U.S. and playing soccer since i was 5, it saddens me to hear the comments made by our elected announcers in the last U.S. game. One way for our country to gain respect from the rest of the world is to present the game in a fashion that can be enjoyed by those all around the world. These selections will only set our progress back.
The fact that you choose only American announcers doesn't matter to me. What matters is that you choose announcers who don't know or respect the world game. Pick announcers who do those two things, or i will watch univision instead.
I support this petition. ESPN needs to get better announcers. Please listen to us and don't put on the crew that you have listed. They bore me to death... No soccer mom is going to watch this great tournament. Don't tune it to their liking.
I AM a soccer mom and I would much prefer the commentary of a consummate professional and student of the game like Derek Rae to some baseball commentator convert. I've watched the Univision telecast in the past despite my inability to understand a word but "Gooaaalll" because I found your commentating team so unbelievably annoying. At least the player names are pronounced properly on Univision. I would love to be able to listen to the telecast in english and enjoy it in the same way I enjoy your Champions league coverage.
I support this petition. With the current rosters that ESPN has lined up I will watch Univision and listen to the BBC instead. Please put Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth on instead. They know the game!
Please get someone who knows what they are talking about on the air! I cannot stand hearing "filler" info during the game because the announcers have no clue what is going on. ESPN do not turn your backs on the real football faithful.
I support this petition. Maybe 20 years ago you could get by with someone who does not know the game. Not anymore. It's offensive. Please use Glenn Davis.
I support this petition. If I have to hear Rob Stone say "WOW thats a home run of a score"..."like when Barry Bonds cracks them out of the Pepsi Park"...
I TOTALLY support this petition. This is not a new problem. I have watched the last 2 World Cups on Univision or Spanish Radio while watching the ESPN images. This is the same reason it pains me watch the Olympics because the coverage is so US centric.
I support this petition. I applaud ABC/ESPN for providing coverage for the World Cup, however, I wish they had hired true soccer announcers for the broadcasts.
I guarantee that if O'Brien is the announcer, census USA will show following the World Cup that the amount of Spanish speaking citizens in USA will have risen tenfold...either put legitimate announcers, or its Telemundo for everyone.
I support this petition. Why don't you subcontract some of the announcers from Fox Soccer Channel....better yet, why don't you sell the rights to FSC and be done with it!
Your choice of commentators is insane! Do you dumb down the commentating of any other serious sport on your network? Please give us serious professional commentators who are actually experienced and knowledgeable!!!
World cup is sacred to us soccer fans and your decision to put announcers that know nothing about the game is an insult to us. Dave O' Brien was just absolutley awful. Maybe I should switch to some other channel to watch the games.
Please, get some announcers with experience with announcing the world's game. They are are out there.
Your current line-up is an embarassment to the sport. US Soccer fans are an educated fanbase and a majority of us are grateful to be able to watch the games, but insulted by the presentation of these game in the US.
