Fuck Eric Wynalda, Alexi Lalas, Marcelo Balboa...they don't know shit about football and were all crap as 'players' for rubbish teams...get 'em off the air, or shut that bull crap commentary off and let me enjoy the rest of the World Cup.
Obviously Mr. O'Brien knows very little about soccer and it's insulting when he tries to be *cute,* such as "he's got WHEELS!" Sorry, but that phrase is reserved for folks who actually spend time on the pitch!!
Get some EPL commentators to cohost with up and coming American commentators during the next five years - including the next world cup. Listen to and learn from the best. Listen. Practice. Learn. Learn.
... and even more importantly, please reduce the size of the score box at the top of the screen & PLEASE stop running obnoxiously synergistic ticker ads at the bottom of the screen telling us what's on Disney media(ABC/ESPN) next, etc. - it blocks the view of the ball!! Very disappointing coverage so far ... As a tip for the 2010 World Cup, you can't go wrong if you mimic Univision's World Cup coverage now except with English-speaking announcers who have a broad knowledge of and passion for the game/players and can convey this knowledge and passion to the growing market of US soccer fans (we need knowledge more than anyone)!
O'Brien seems to be calling a hurling match. Balboa is just wrong. about everything. Did anyone else catch when he said that an Aussie player's not taking a strike on a ball that he thought he had been called offsides on (one day after Crespo got a yellow for doing so) was a mistake worthy of a child's league? The comedy was enhanced when Ronaldo got a yellow card for following Marcelo's instructions approximately 2 minutes later.
Horrible!! commentating, along, with not even yelling "goal" when a goal was scored. Why was the stadium noise filtered out??, It gives the whole game more depth and excitement. thank you
Fire DOB and Balboa! ESPN, are you *really* this lame??? Get us some announcers and commentators who actually understand the game (DOB) and can form a coherent sentence (Marcelo).
Mickey Mouse is a good way to describe your WC announcers and commentators.
Please remove Dave O'Brien. His commentary is uninformed and incorrect. He distracts the viewer from the game because of his amateurish comments and lack of understanding of soccer. In addition, his political comments are not welcome in the world of soccer.
I just viewed the England/Ecuador match, and I have never viewed a more dismal announcing job. The local high school football broadcast has more relevant and riveting information than that provided by ABC. Case in point, the ABC team spent five minutes debating how sick David Beckham appeared in the latter part of the second half, and whether or not he even deserved to be on the field. THIS RIGHT AFTER ENGLAND'S CAPTAIN HAD SCORED A MARVELOUS GOAL OFF A FREE KICK! Disgusting, extremely irritating, and enough to make me tune in to BBC Radio.
