The only ESPN
influence during a World Cup game is the announcers. Literally every other
aspect of the game presentation is controlled by FIFA.
It’s fascinating.
It’s refreshing.
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FIFA’s coverage
is unique in sports because it has evolved very little over the past few World
Cup, with the notable exception
of the goal-line technology. A World Cup game in 2006 looks very similar to
a World
Cup game in 2014.
Yet, somehow, by
not evolving it appears to have evolved right past American sports broadcasters – ESPN, CBS, Fox,
NBC, etc. – in this country.
So what could
American broadcasters learn from FIFA?
The focus is always on the game
When you watch a
World Cup game for 90 minutes, the attention will be on a World Cup game for
90 minutes. I know this sounds obvious but it is almost never the case in
American sports.
Take last night’s
Spurs/Heat finale. With about two minutes to go in the game with the Spurs
about win a fifth championship, Mike Breen inexplicably turned the focus to
what the Heat will do in the offseason. That is legitimate discussion. It is
not an legitimate discussion at that moment.
That is far from
the only instance that American fans are watching a sporting event and being
shown something else. How many mindless
interviews has Fox subjected us to during baseball coverage with actors from
shows that don’t last past November? How many times are we listening to a
sideline reporter interview a family member during a game?
Again, those
interviews can be worthwhile, but not in lieu of game action. If I tune in to a
UConn/Florida basketball game, the reason is probably because I want to watch
UConn and Florida play basketball.
Of course the
worst offender is ESPN’s college football coverage where almost every telecast
devolves into a debate about the Heisman Trophy, the BCS, polls or the strength
of the SEC. I will never forget last year, as UCF was pounding Rutgers, that
the announcers spent most of the fourth quarter talking
about Ohio State.
The right replay at the right time
My favorite
aspect of the World Cup game coverage has been the replays put forth by FIFA as
they are astoundingly perfect. It feels like I watch the game, I think about a
replay I’d like to see and it magically appears from FIFA. I have no idea who
FIFA has as their game producer(s) but they should all teach classes to
American broadcasters.
When there is an
NFL instant replay challenge, it takes forever to get the right angle. They’ll
show one. Then two. Then three. The announcers will hem and haw about the
ruling. Then, out of nowhere, there will be a fourth and deciding replay from
the correct angle that shows whether the player had two feet in bounds or if
the ball was over the goal line.
Why can FIFA
almost always get the right replay up first while it never seems that way in
America? My working theory is that there are too
many cameras in American sports focused on too many things while FIFA
clearly is more focused with its camera work. This goes back to my first point
about the focus being on the game.
No missed action
The first play of
the second quarter in Game 5 of Spurs/Heat was an incredible alley-oop by Kawhi
Leonard. If you saw it, you were squinting. Why? ESPN was airing an interview
with Eric Spoelstra from between quarters in which he said the Heat had to keep
playing good defense. It was illuminating for sure.
I watched a lot
of soccer this weekend and I cannot think of one instance where I missed any
game action. I do remember, during the Argentina game, where they quickly cut
from a replay when Messi touched the ball – nowhere near scoring, but you never
know – and it was jarring because FIFA was not going to even risk missing a bit
of action.
The Oregon
football team, first under Chip Kelly and to this day, will occasionally line
up quick on an extra point and go for two to catch the defense by surprise.
Even though they have a track record of doing this – television cameras almost
always miss this. If another college football team does it, you always only see
it on a replay.
All screen, all game
At the end of
this year’s Indy 500, Helio Castroneves and Ryan Hunter-Reay put on an
IndyCar spectacular. For the final three laps, they passed each other, they
pushed each other and they had anyone watching on the edge of their seats.
Of course, you
would have be on the edge of your seats to see as ESPN decided to do a
split-screen with the driver’s wives and girlfriends. Deadspin determined that
85% of the screen was devoted to something other than the race during those
final laps.
During the World
Cup, the replays are shown in lieu of game action and usually during a break.
That means no split screens. No crowd shots taking space away from the game.
You are focusing on one thing and only one thing.
That doesn’t even
take into account the constant bombardment of stats and ads and the bottom line
during sports coverage. Have you seen an NFL broadcast lately? Thanks to the
rise of fantasy football, it feels like you’re watching CNBC instead CBS.
For a beautiful
few hours on Friday afternoon, there was no ESPN bottom line anywhere. ESPN was
showing the US Open golf
tournament and the whole screen was showing golf. ESPN2 was showing
Mexico/Cameroon and the whole screen was showing soccer.
ESPN used to only
show scores twice an hour, with other broadcasters following a similar pattern.
With the explosion of smart phones and Wi-Fi, maybe we go back to that? If I
care about another score, I can find it without changing the channel. I don’t
need to read the same scroll for three hours.
FIFA’s use of slow-motion
is so radically different than the United States and so much better. Yes, they
do slow motion of action but what sets the World Cup apart is the slow-motion
reaction of players and coaches to big moments.
After Messi
scored his goal Sunday, there was an amazing shot of him running toward the
crowd – in super-slow-mo – screaming and pulling down on his jersey, to show
everyone who he was playing for. In that moment, any questions about Messi’s
loyalty to his country versus his club were answered in the most poignant
manner possible.
You rarely get
that in American sports coverage because slow-motion is used the majority of
the time – even more so for super-slow-mo – on the game. There is nothing wrong
with that. But we are missing the emotion of sports. These games mean something
to these players but, at times, it’s not properly being conveyed.
No star cams
One last dig at
ESPN’s brutal NBA coverage as the network decided that the Spurs winning a fifth
championship was the perfect time to do a Goodfellas long shot of LeBron James
walking back to the locker room.
During the NHL’s
Stanley Cup Final, you could go online to watch a camera devoted to following
only one star player on each team.
Think about a Tim Tebow cam
and shudder.
That doesn’t
happen in the World Cup. The camera doesn’t focus on the star unless the star
deserves it. It resonates because when you don’t see Messi for a while, it’s
because Messi isn’t doing anything to merit your attention – and then you
wonder why he isn’t.
And then
suddenly, the star appears and scores a goal and all is right with the world.
By not focusing endlessly on the star, it makes the star turn even more
dramatic.
When you watch
the World Cup, I want you to pay attention to how much different – and how
refreshing – the game coverage is. The game is the thing, as it should be.
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The only good thing about FIFA is the game broadcasts.
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