Many hard-core soccer fans are quite unhappy with the World Cup “play-by-play” and commentary provided by ABC/ESPN. That’s not surprising — the coverage has not been stellar and cult members tend to be intolerate of people who dabble in their cult. But the reality is that the soccer cult in this country (unlike say the baseball cult) is not larger enough to justify turning the broadcasts over to cult members.
I’m just grateful that all of the matches are being broadcast live. This is a far cry from 1978 when I had access to only a handful of matches on closed circuit television at DAR Constitution Hall. Or 1982, when I watched condensed taped versions of the matches in black and white on public television starting at midnight. Or the next several Cups, when the commentators kept explaining the rules during the matches.
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