You know those really annoying Budweiser football analysts that ITV have in their sponsorship credits? They’re the ones who are only marginally more annoying than the EDF ones. Well I decided, using the power of the internet, to try out ESPN2 coverage of tonight’s Spain v Tunisia fixture.
First of all, the picture I got was pretty good – superior indeed to the BBC’s live stream. The graphics were typically American with the score box filling the top of the screen; official FIFA sponsors’ logos rotating around at one end. Meanwhile the bottom of the screen had continual score updates from baseball or whatever. The football action took place in what was left.
Actually, the commentary was quite good – being done by a couple of guys hailing from Britain and Ireland by the sound of their accents, Adrian Healey and Tommy Smyth. They were obviously commentating off a monitor, but they seemed pretty knowledgable, and enthusiastic. When the match ended, there was much excitement over who might be the viewer voted (via text message) T-Mobile Man of the Match (it was Spain’s Torres – not a hard choice since he’d contributed two goals), and there was a summary of the day’s previous play. Unfortunately, one of the studio hosts insisted that we carefully watch Tranquillo Barnetta’s goal which he described as a perfectly struck shot. Unfortunate, because the slow-motion replay revealed that it would have been slightly off target were it not for a deflection off a Togo defender. Still, not nearly as bad as I thought it might be, and I’ve heard worse from BBC and ITV commentators so far this world cup.
I turned off just as ESPN2’s coverage of a 2005 Domino Championship begun. Really. I’m not lying. Seriously. Have a look here if you don’t believe me!