Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Marcelo Balboa - Dirty Commentator?

Gotta say that I loved watching Marcelo Balboa play soccer. But I've not been impressed with his abilities as a commentator during this World Cup.

First off, I don't like the way he sells the professional foul as a good thing. Same with players pretending to be fouled. I'd much rather him tell the veiwing public that this poor behavior detracts from what could be a wonderfully artistic game.

He's also been prone to John Maddenism syndrome in my opinion. We rely on Balboa to comment on the game and provide a point of view from an experienced eye. Instead he gets wrapped up in talking (to hear himself talk?) and it doesn't mesh with the action or the replay on television.

Case in point. The opening minutes of the World Cup final when Italy fould the French attacker in the penalty box. No comment whatsoever on the fact that the Italian was pushed by Zidane (French) into the French attacker. We can see the replay and what happened clearly, but Balboa & Co. completely miss why the foul happened, and end up dscrediting himself as a reliable source. His statements regardng what happened don't match what we see on the television.

Should it have even been a foul called against Italy since the Italian player was pushed into the attacker?

I get fed up with this kind of thing in American Football all the time, hence my callng in John Maddneism. He is regularly guilty of this sort of thing.