on the one hand, FSC brought football to so many of us here in the states, and they performed admirably in that respect…knowledgeable announcers who could talk the game and not around it. That being said, I watched the CL final last year and had to mute everything else aside from the game: it was basically taking the FOX NFL team (production and announcers), mixing in some soccer announcers and then patting themselves on the back (“see?? we can do this sawker-ball stuff”). If they try that with the World Cup it will be a colossal FAIL, particularly coupled with all the current controversy regarding the awards of the ’18 and ’22 Cups to Russia and Qatar (still shaking my head), respectively.

I will miss the English announcers

… in which I saw, while a massive floating cloud crashes to the ground in a monumental explosion or machinery and thousands of body parts from the literally tens of spectators at the Qatar World Cup, an aging Warren Barton NEVER ONCE STOPS TALKING about how thisd is going to mean a tactical switch in the second half, a MASSIVE MASSIVE switch, from a 2-5-1 to a “tried and true” 4-4-2.

…on top of the Floating Cloud.

Wynalda: Warren, what would you say about our vantge point up here?

Barton: It’s an unaparalleled chance to get a view of hte pitch and the formation, and you can see how US Coach Caleb Porter is showing his inexperience by giving his players water. Up here, it’s clear that no water will be needed.

Sullivan: When you go get the water, it’s important to remember that if you can’t get to the front of the queue, you need to get one of your team members to hand you a bottle, and then you can pass it to another teammate, or even to a member of the other team. You just wait until after you’re done. And at all times, it’s bad form to put your mouth on the bottle. Just squeeze it into your mouth from 8 or 10 centimeters, or as the French say, centimetres.

DYNAMIC, as opposed to Dynamo. Force of habit :/