Is the voice of racism going hand in hand with the growing popularity of soccer on television?
I received an e-mail from “Ralph” after last week’s column in which I praised the Fox Soccer Network’s coverage of the Gold Cup title match June 25 at the Rose Bowl, where Mexico defeated the U.S. 4-2.
My comments included mentioning the outstanding play of Giovani Dos Santos, whose goal in the 76th minute cemented Mexico’s victory.
Ralph wrote: “Maybe we could give him a bit of credit for teaching some of those illegals in the crowd the fancy footwork that enabled them to scoot across the border illegally.”
Were some illegals among the pro-Mexico crowd of 93,420?
Probably. But neither Ralph nor I know how many.
If Ralph were really interested in attendance figures and wanted to know about the game’s atmosphere, he should have used his computer to read numerous reports out of Pasadena, Calif. Many reporters commented about the overall civility that existed at the Rose Bowl that night.
There wasn’t a lot of nasty taunting between Mexican and U.S fans. Only 26 arrests were made during and after the game, a staggeringly low figure considering the number of people in attendance.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne conducted numerous interviews with Mexican residents living in Southern California and discovered friendly splits within families. Many parents who became U.S. citizens years ago supported Mexico while their children were fans of the U.S. team.
After the game, Team USA coach Bob Bradley told Shelburne that the Rose Bowl presented “a great competitive atmosphere.”
But Ralph said it was “insulting” because the award ceremony was conducted in Spanish, pointing out that the Rose Bowl is a U.S. stadium.
He was partially wrong. Most of the ceremony was in Spanish, but English was spoken when the U.S. team received its silver honors.
Ralph evidently doesn’t know — or care — that during international sports competition, regardless of where the games are played, the winner gets the honor in both anthems and speeches. We will see more of this as television continues its international coverage.
Calling me “politically correct,” Ralph said I should think about doing something else with my spare time. He said my column is “not for you or for me.”
After more than 40 years, I’m used to being lambasted by readers. OK, here’s the familiar bromide: “It goes with the territory.”
But Ralph’s territory seems to be racism.
Hopefully, his views aren’t shared by the growing number of fans of televised soccer.
Speaking of fans, the Fox Soccer Channel (English) and Univision (Spanish) had record-breaking audiences during the Gold Cup.
ESPN is reporting strong ratings for its ongoing coverage in Germany of the women’s World Cup, which included Team USA’s 3-0 rout of Colombia on Saturday.
Talking tennis.
Veteran broadcaster Dick Enberg ended his 28 years of Wimbledon coverage on NBC and ESPN with a series of thoughtful opinions on ESPN2.
Among his best dealt with TV coverage of professional tennis.
“What can we do better? Don’t forget the game,” Enberg said, adding that “the TV trucks, our faces or our words are not of prime importance. The game, as The Bard has widely alluded, is the thing.”
Enberg, 76, is the TV voice of baseball’s San Diego Padres. But he will work with John McEnroe and Mary Carillo in his tennis finale during CBS coverage of the U.S. Open.
The other Broncos.
The Mtn. is introducing Boise State, the newest conference member of the Mountain West, to its audience with a series of specials, including a half-hour program at 7 tonight.
Footnotes.
ESPN2 will provide Thursday and Friday coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. NBC takes over Saturday and Sunday coverage of the major. . . . Bob Costas and Al Michaels will be baseball-booth teammates for the first time when they call the Mets- Giants game Friday in San Francisco (8 p.m.) on the MLB Network.
Longtime Denver journalist Dusty Saunders writes about sports media each Monday in The Denver Post. Reach him at tvtime@comcast.net.
NFL Network aware Canada plays too
Tired of the board games being played by team owners and players during the NFL lockout? You can watch actual turf battles in the Canadian Football League on the NFL Network. Week 2 of the schedule features a Saturday doubleheader: Montreal at Saskatchewan (2 p.m.) and Hamilton at Edmonton (5 p.m.). The NFL Network will televise weekly CFL games through the Grey Cup championship game Nov. 27.
