I was just thinking last week that in order to get more people interested in watching soccer, U.S. networks should add a European color commentator or play-by-play person to provide a quality broadcast.
The majority of the MLS announcers are so bad that often I have to turn off the sound just to enjoy the game.
So imagine how happy I was to turn on Euro 2008 on ESPN and heard Sky Sports Commentator and studio analyst Andy Gray.
Gray is a former Scotland National Team player and he has worked for Britain’s Sky Sports since 1990. He is one of Sky’s top commentators, and is a regular on Sky’s Premier League and England National Team broadcasts.
Gray is joined in the studio by Rece Davis, Julie Foudy, Tommy Smyth and Robbie Mustoe. Julie is by far the best U.S. analyst, but she is far behind Gray.
It is interesting to compare the EPSN team with the MLS pregame team on FSC. The Fox team, which consists of Mark Rogondino, Todd Grisham, Christopher Sullivan, Max Bretos and Christain Miles, is almost unbearable to listen to at times.
The Fox team rarely provides any insightful opinion about the game being played, and their play-by-play skills are poor at best.
ESPN with Andy Gray is like listening to Phil Simms during an NFL game. The Fox team is like listening to a game on your local cable station.
Thank you, ESPN, for making the Euro’s enjoyable to the knowledgeable soccer fan.
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