Friday, June 29, 2007

Cobras and Cohen

Brad Feldman was meeting some friends at Cobras and Matadors, a Hollywood tapas restaurant that he likes and he invited me along.

He wanted to warn me, however.

"I don't know if you know Steve Cohen," he said, with the slight nervousness of someone announcing something potentially unpleasant. "But I've also invited him and he's going to be there."

Steve Cohen is the host of Fox Football Friday. He was born in London, and his many years in the States haven't diminished his love for English soccer, which he declares on his show all the time, especially when comparing MLS unfavorably to it. He also has a particular distaste for Landon Donovan, and he is not shy about expressing that, either.

In other words, Steve is like many, many expats and Americans that I know.

Anyway, I ended up sitting between Steve and Ivan, a former soccer buddy of Brad's who greeted me with, "Canales? I sent you an email once - I completely disagreed with you about Klinsmann."

No one fought, not really. Here's a sampling.

Steve: I like soccernet - it's my default page on my computer. Not the U.S. one (the one I, Andrea, write for) but the main world page. That's run out of England, isn't it?"

Me: I think so. It's definitely English-centered, that main page. We're just on a little tab there, labeled U.S. soccer. What's funny is how many English friends I have that will mention that they read soccernet all the time.

Steve: Why is that funny?

Me: Well, because so many of them throw a fit over the U.S. calling the game "soccer", and yet they go religiously to a site that uses that as part of the title. It's a weird contrast, or maybe they've forgotten the word comes from England. Over there, there's shops called Soccerscene and Soccer Store where the English shop, but then they reprimand Americans for calling it by the "wrong" name.

Steve: I'm like that. We were changing some format things about the show, and I said, 'I don't care what else you do, just don't change the title to anything "soccer". We're a football show.' So we stayed Fox Football Friday. Well, ok, we're a show on the Fox Soccer Channel, but it was important to me.

Later on. . .

Steve: Why wasn't Donovan at Copa America?

Me: I thought you just said the reason that you enjoyed the game so much was because Donovan wasn't anywhere near it.

Steve: He's a gutless wonder. Why didn't he want to go?

Me: Why didn't Dempsey go? Bocanegra? Howard isn't going to lose his place at Everton if he plays in the Copa America. Where was Claudio Reyna for one last hurrah? Beasley? Why didn't Mastroeni go?

Steve: Donovan doesn't want to cede his celebrity to David Beckham.

Me: I think he's been dusted on that count already.

Steve: You're a Donovan fan.

Me: I hate those extremes - you're either a Donovan hater or a fan? I can see that he's a good player in many respects and yet I understand that a lot of people feel that he lacks something.

Steve: He's gutless. And the worst part about it is that he's good. He could have been amazing in Europe. If he had stayed, he could have been great.

Me: You're a bigger Donovan fan then I am, then. I never saw him as amazing in Europe. I saw him as a fair to decent player. That's what most of the best Americans are over there. The US is still a team built on pieces working together, not stars. Donovan is a valuable piece, but he's still a cog in the machine, and that's why Copa America is valuable, to get more pieces of the machine running without him.

Steve also mentioned that he'd talked about my articles before on his show, and might say something again about my viewpoints (probably that he disagrees with most of them), but heck, that's what different perspectives are all about.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm sure you more than held your own. great job!

Anonymous said...

So is Steven the fat one with glasses who can't breathe through his nose? Or is the other guy? Either way, yawn to both of them. And you did a great job, Andrea.

So Steven hates LD just because he thinks he could have been amazing in Europe but opted not to go? First, LD is 25 - not even peaked yet. So he still may end up going. Will Steven like him then?

Why can't LD be amazing right here. For us. Let us watch him play and develop. My gosh, we've watched him grow up here and set and break all these records and win championships. And he's just getting better as he matures. Why should the europeans get to see all that?

Sure, I'd love to have seen him give it to them in Europe (and we may yet get to see it) - but it's just so I could rub eurosnobs' nose in it. And if I never get to do that, well, that's no reason to hate Landon Donovan.

Thing is, they used to have LD on their radio show all the time in years past - and had a great time with him. They would joke with each other and it was fun to listen to. They would go on and on about him and how great he was and how nice it was of him to make time for them. And now they just because he didn't go to Europe, they trash him?

When I see and/or read about LD meeting kids, talking with kids, and how much these kids and their parents love it; how friendly and approachable he is - how he's helping bring US soccer to another level in this country and promoting the game here, it just makes me sick to hear the comments that Steven Cohen makes about him. Which is why I no longer listen to their radio show or watch Fox Football Friday.

Landon Donovan is a classy guy. Steven Cohen is not.

Anonymous said...

Steve Cohen came into the US soccer scene a couple years ago and probably contributed somewhat to get some initial exposure and to get soccer specific stations and radio programs started. However, he is basically an egotistical jackass now and i think he has lost credibility. He has now been replaced by true soccer(or futbol if you prefer)educated unbiased believers such as yourself Andrea and the other recent and decent bloggers and columnists. People that believe in US soccer and MLS and are educated in World Soccer will do much more promoting the beautiful game in the US then biased "I am right, and Chelsea rules" crap he promotes. Now if there was an Andrea futbol phone in program I would set my DVR right now!

The Racine's said...

stevie's show is the worst ever. keep up the great work.

Eric PZ said...

I first met Steven (and Nick) when they were starting their show in LA. I think it was in 02. They are both good guys. When they first started, their weekly show, they'd be at all the Galaxy games at the RB and interviewed Galaxy players all the time.

I remember talking with him when LD first came back from Europe. His opinion at that time was that you'll never be the best you can be if you don't challenge yourself. Playing in MLS, he's happy to be a big fish in a small pond. It's like a PT blogger offered money to work as a writer full time but turning down the offer because you don't think you can make deadlines (maybe not the best analogy but you get the idea)

Anyway, Steven likes to stir things up like most radio hosts. Look at Rush Limbagh. Regardless of what you think of his opinions, he's done already over the years with them.

Steven and Nick were one of the first to make a career out of the Sport of Professional Soccer in this country. You hafta respect that.