Lend an Ear to World Cup Announcers

Television's most intriguing image thus far in the World Cup soccer tournament from South Africa came Saturday when a camera caught former President Bill Clinton and eternal Rolling Stone Mick Jagger chatting at the match between the United States and Ghana.

Too bad ESPN had no microphone nearby to eavesdrop. But the network's mics were open Monday during Netherlands-Slovakia when its two Scottish announcers, Derek Rae and Ally McCoist, said something colloquial that amused them.

Whatever it was, it could not be deciphered by American ears, even after repeated playbacks from the recorded telecast. Not even the closed-caption service could transcribe it. After a pause, Rae said with whimsy to his American audience: "I'm sure one or two of you are reaching out now in search of a Scottish-to-English dictionary.''

Despite that one lapse of translation, the announcing has been a generally delightful part of an ongoing ESPN effort that is far superior to ESPN's usual cluttered and self-promoting productions. After Rae and McCoist entertained through Holland's 2-1 victory Monday morning, the Englishmen Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku did the same in the afternoon for Brazil's 3-0 victory over Chile.



Share The ESPN voices, most of them from the British Isles with a few Americans and others along, remind U.S. fans of an old adage attributed to various wise men: that England and America are two great nations separated by a common language.

The two tribes use many of the same words in such different ways. For instance: when Tyler discussed an unfair yellow card to Kaka of Brazil in a previous game, he did not say, as an American might, that the star was done wrong because an opponent took a dive and faked a foul. No, instead, Tyler observed that Kaka was "the victim of some cynical kinology.''

Let's face it, Dick Vitale's bombast would not fit here. It's not that soccer announcers always understate. It's just that even their most pointed comments tend to be droll and dry. Case in point: Rae discussed Dutch goalie Maarten Stekelenburg "who, by the way, is deaf in one ear, not because of the incessant drone of the vuvuzelas.''

Describing live action, Rae rose to the moment for the first goal by the Netherlands, his exclamations and pauses in perfect rhythm with the pace of the play. "Here's Arjen Robben, to use his pace and trickery ... Robben for Holland ... Majestic!''
"This young, hungry nation after their velvet divorce. That's what everyone would want -- a velvet divorce."
-- Derek Rae on Slovakia's breakup with the Czech Republic
The supporting crew, on site and back in the studio in the States, tends to be honest, even if knocking the show. At halftime of the first game Monday, Steve McManaman and Ruud Gullit evaluated the Dutch style. "It's boring,'' McManaman said. And Gullit admitted: "They rock the opposition to sleep.'' None of the announcers patronize their audience or condescend to their co-workers; in other words, there are no Joe Morgans among them.

Visually, ESPN uses the world feed, which means less is more when compared to ESPN's domestic excess in baseball, football and basketball. The world-feed directors usually cut to the proper shots and don't clutter their screen with inappropriate angles, feckless "sideline reporters,'' promotions for other ESPN products and irrelevant statistical graphics. End-zone shots and closeups are limited, usually to brief live looks or on replays. And the slow-motion playbacks deliver informative and revealing pictures of rain and soccer balls splashing off sweaty foreheads, raised cleats digging into fabric or flesh, occasional blood trickling from fresh wounds and flying tufts of turf.

The pictures are accompanied by observations like "a speculative shot'' (Rae) ... "lovely little safe flick, what a wee flick that is'' (McCoist) ... "the last flickering flame of Slovak ambition has been extinguished'' (Rae) ... and "the best thing would be a Chilean goal to awaken the sleeping yellow giants.'' (Ekoku).

When Rae mentioned Slovakia's breakup with the Czech Republic almost two decades ago, he said: "This young, hungry nation after their velvet divorce. That's what everyone would want -- a velvet divorce.'' And when a ball hit the referee by accident, Tyler said with tongue in cheek: "Good touch by the referee; Chile needing all the help they could get.''

Some of the matches have been wonderful; some have been lethargic. But few of ESPN's telecasts have disappointed. If the level of play in these decisive two weeks matches the consistent quality of broadcasting, we could enjoy a smashing finish.