Talking back - The Fan Speak Out

Soccer Digest, Jan, 2002 by Jon Bodner

I wanted to express my appreciation for the gentleman from Atlanta's comments in your November 2001 issue ["The Fans Speak Out"]. He stated that a major reason that Americans don't follow soccer is the lack of knowledge of the announcers. I have been a referee for 17 years, and I wanted to mention that the only announcer who is worth a darn is Tommy Smyth.

Announcers don't seem to realize that what they see from the booth may not be, and generally isn't, what happened on the field. Ty Keough was a wonderful player for the NASL's New York Cosmos, but he has a lot to learn about being behind the mike. Wendy Gebauer and J.P. Dellacamera seem to be a bit clueless. The beginner's referee test is only 100 questions, and you only need to answer 75 correctly in order to pass. Let's give it to the announcers, and see how they do. I think we'd be astounded at the results.

Jon Bodner
Arlington, VA.