Friday, April 4, 2008

Bilingual bias?

English highlights - pretty puny - only Beckham's goal.

Spanish highlights, much more complete.

I won't translate the Spanish commentary, but they also gave Landon more credit for his play than the English version, which barely mentioned him.

The English tabs also have their take with video - guess which goal?

17 comments:

nothingtoseehere said...

I remember the few games Beckham was able to play last year. I swear the SportsCenter anchors started every sentence with "Here's Beckham with a..."

Pretty weak coverage to not even show the second goal. You would think that MLS would have tried to negotiate in some terms governing SportsCenter coverage in addition to the TV package. They even show all the goals in hockey games.

Joseph D'Hippolito said...

a.c., there are some good reasons for Donovan receiving more credit than Beckham in the Spanish-language press:

1. Donovan is a far more well-known quantity among Latino immigrants here than Beckham.

2. An unmarked Beckham beat a goalkeeper one-on-one, which is what an offensive player in that position is supposed to do (right, Alan Gordon?).

3. Donovan actually had a more difficult chance than Beckham did.

4. Donovan set up Beckham's goal by pouncing on a bad touch by Ryan Cochrane (which was unmentioned in the Times and O.C. Register). Good offensive players realize and execute their defensive responsibilities.

nothingtoseehere said...

Comment spamming!

I don't know if you ever watch ESPN 1st and 10. Skip Bayless is ripping Beckham right now about all the hype about him not saving MLS, American soccer, and taking so long to score a goal. Seems that he forgot that it was ESPN doing most of the hyping.

More disconnect between the WWL and the American soccer fan underscoring the importance of blogs like this?

L.B. said...

Skip Bayless is a tool.

Anonymous said...

Ohh Man! ESPN(English) is AWFUL!
I usually watch ESPN Deportes because of their better expanded coverage of games, before they use to show very little MLS games, now the tables are turning....

Landon/Beckham can play Sweet Music together!

just another one of you said...

Skip Bayless is on ESPN b/c he no one can put up with his shit for a full article. We are all dumber for having him around.

Arena football gets better coverage than hockey on ESPN, so what chance does MLS have. I remember on opening weekend they put the scores on the bottom line ticker on ESPNews, and instead of filling the section which usually houses the game stats with actual stats they put "Major League Soccer." Yes, thank you ESPN, now I know what it means. My interest in the score was in such a rush that I forgot the league the game I was trying to follow was part of.

BTW, that first goal by San Jose seemed pretty legit to me. MLS really needs to focus on improving the officiating. I think this is part of their 'game first' initiative, but I'm not sure.

Unknown said...

Also, in the second replay from the Sun video, it's Beckham that looks to be offside on his goal. Granted, the view is 3/4, but when Landon makes the pass, that's the way it looks...

Anonymous said...

In the English-speaking world Landon is either anonymous or derided; in the Spanish-speaking world he is respected (especially in Mexico, where he is the gringo they love to hate-but wish played for their club team)...

If he wanted to make $$$ tomorrow I'm sure he could make $4 million per year at America....

Anonymous said...

One reason ( for which he should be commended) why Donovan may be more visible with the Spanish language media is he gives many interviews in Spanish ( so do Keller and Maestroani). I can't remember ever seeing one Mexican player ( while playing in the mexican league of for the Tri) do the same, though I have to believe some of them speak english.

I presume Beckham should be able to do that as well but I've never seen him do it on UNIVISION.

One thing I love about Spanish language interviews is that they seem to give the athlete more of a chance to express themselves.

DECO

L.B. said...

To add to the point that Hispanics (or in this case Mexicans) recognize Donovan more than Becks...

I went to pick up my girls today from my parents' house and my dad asked me (in Spanish) what the final score of the Galaxy game was - he'd apparently dozed off at halftime.

"2-0," I told him.

"That's it?" he replied. "I was watching the game and Donovan scored. I thought he might score another."


... not a mention of Becks.

CACuzcatlan said...

I saw Beckham say a sentence in Spanish during a Telefutura broadcast.

Anonymous said...

To the Anonymous who said if Landon wanted to make 4 million to play in America..., So True, i actually heard rumors of America thinking of Landing him once. How huge would this be, but i think hes better of in L.A.

As of this moment,i think L.A. is more popular in the world stage than america.

Anonymous said...

For those of us who watched the game on ESPN....I thought JP Dellacamara and Harkes did a good job calling the game. I have always liked Dellacamara and have grown to like Harkes as he has improved his craft as well. They stuck to just calling the game and have eliminated the drivel and hyperbole that dominated last years broadcasts with O'Brien & Waldo. Just my two cents....

Anonymous said...

I don't think it's a bilingual bias as much as it's just playing to their audience.

The English speaking part of ESPN is pretty much: NFL, MLB, NBA. That's it. If they wander off to other videos they just want to see the players they know doing something. Beckham is pretty much the only play anyone who doesn't follow the game knows so he's the one who gets in.

The Spanish speaking side, pretty much the exact opposite. Most people are there for soccer and baseball.

I've seen hockey videos on the English ESPN where they show maybe 2 goals in a 8 goal game ever since that started flagging in popularity. They just gotta play to the audience.

Anonymous said...

papa bear,

Bill O'Reilly is that you? ugh!! ugh!! ugh!!

Anonymous said...

papa bear,

Bill O'Reilly is that you? ugh!! ugh!! ugh!!

I forget to add - just kidding. Stephen Colbert refers to BillO as "papa bear". So, I made fun of that aspect of your handle. No harm, no foul, hopefully. Peace!

Anonymous said...

In other words: Latinos know the game to a different depth than their EEUU counterparts.