Comments on: The Sweeper: The Sports Guy Does Soccer

By: ESPN, the World Cup and MLS in 2010 | Pitch Invasion

ESPN, the World Cup and MLS in 2010 | Pitch Invasion — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:13:00 +0000

[...] much better in 2010, with Martin Tyler already signed up as the lead voice. And then there’s the Sports Guy’s new found interest in soccer, a bajillion ESPN folks seemingly already on location in South Africa, and SportsCenter ready to [...]

By: Tom Dunmore

Tom Dunmore — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:31:39 +0000

That’s a good point, Jason, certainly even his advocacy hasn’t helped the NBA too much and college sports continues on relentlessly whatever Bill says. I think as you say this can’t be a bad thing for soccer, and unlike in the cases of NBA and college sports, this is something new as a serious subject for popular discussion on ESPN that many of his readers might just open up to, especially in a World Cup year.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:18:58 +0000

@Tom, I agree with almost everything in both your original post and your reply. My only point was that a bellwether is a leader of a flock, and the flock of “mid-America’s attitude toward sports” has not noticeably followed the Sports Guy’s attitudes toward the NBA, NCAA football, or NCAA basketball. Simmons may have a lot of sheep, but it’s not clear they follow his bell when it comes to which sports to enjoy or leagues to follow.

As to the question you pose in your reply, I don’t know there is such a thing anymore (if there ever was) as the sports-columnist-as-bellwether.

But this is a semantic disagreement. I certainly concur that it would not be a bad thing to have one of our most popular sports writers regularly preaching the greatness of soccer.

By: Tom Dunmore

Tom Dunmore — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:57:17 +0000

Who would you propose instead as a bellwether, Jason? Simmons is the best-known current writer for the biggest sports outlet in the nation. Even his Twitter account has 624,086 followers. Sure, we could add “professional” before sports if you want as he is weak on college sports, but he obviously covers professional football and baseball extensively as well. He’s always been at his best on hoops, but that’s besides the point: he’s one of the few writers most sports fans would recognise by name these days, and his appeal has always been his pop culture shtick (even if that’s not worked as well in his older age). I just don’t know of any writer closer to the heart of American sports culture.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:41:53 +0000

I have mixed feelings about Bill Simmons, but in what way is he “the bellwether of mid-America’s attitude to sports”?

He obsesses over the NBA, has no interest in college football, and admittedly only likes college hoops during March Madness.

By: AJF7688 Blog - The Sweeper: The Sports Guy Does Soccer | Pitch Invasion

AJF7688 Blog - The Sweeper: The Sports Guy Does Soccer | Pitch Invasion — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:37:53 +0000

[...] View original post here: The Sweeper: The Sports Guy Does Soccer | Pitch Invasion [...]

By: Jared Montz

Jared Montz — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:38:50 +0000

I loved that story the Sports Guy did. I read it last night and it gave such great detail to the Azteca experience. What an experience that is just for the fans to be there!!