Wynalda talks about California comment

(Apologies for the re-post but the blog does that sometimes when changes are made.)

Eric Wynalda may make jokes about a lot of things, be it poor officiating or poor finishing, but the ESPN soccer analyst insists that the last thing he was trying to do was make a joke about the wildfires in California during the ESPN2 broadcast of the Chicago-DC United playoff game on Thursday.

As some of you know, Wynalda stated "Looks like California" when cameras panned to Chicago Fire fans lighting flares in the stands. The comment was followed by silence and Wynalda didn't say another word related to the comment. It wasn't because he didn't want to. It was because, according to Wynalda, a producer cut him off.

"I'm not happy about it either," Wynalda said. "I hope nobody thinks for a second that I'm making a joke about that.

"I'm three miles away from the fire and couldn't wait to get on an airplane to get home," Wynalda said. "I've been spraying my roof down and wondering what the wind will do. There's nothing to joke about in that."

Wynalda intended to discuss the wildfires in California, at least briefly, before he says his microphone was cut off. Wynalda blamed an overzealous producer with cutting off his mic before he could elaborate on his initial "Looks like California" comment after a camera shot showed Chicago Fire fans lighting flares in the stands at Toyota Park.

"They can't apologize enough," Wynalda said of ESPN. "They know what happened and it's really something I hate about television, having people cut you off in the middle of saying something.

"I have people calling me asking me about what I said and people who know me know I wouldn't joke around about something like that."

I called Wynalda on Friday to get his side of the story regarding the comment, which did leave some many viewers wondering what his intentions where. Wynalda called me on Saturday to clear the air and, while he was pretty upset at first, he eventually calmed down and gave his side of the story. He expressed his frustration with being cut off and with critics pointing out the comment (yes, SBI falls into that category.)

"I know people want me out, I know there are people who would love to see me fired," Wynalda said. "That's fine, but to be fired for something like this would be crazy because I wasn't able to say what I wanted to say."

Wynalda also pointed to another incident where he was cut off when making a remark about a Mexican referee during the US-Guatemala friendly in the spring. He intended to go into discussing how Mexico and Guatemala were the real arch-rivals before the United States emerged as a force, comments he was never able to make on the air.

Do I regret posting about the original comments? No. As much as several readers didn't consider it a big deal, the statement was heard by thousands and I know for a fact that several people came away feeling as if Wynalda made an insensitive remark, which was a natural reaction given the context and the lack of follow-up remarks. Now Wynalda has told his side of the story, which may never have come out if attention hadn't been focused on the original comments.

What do you think about this story? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[Ben]

so what was he refering to? what was the explination he wanted to give?

[Brad]

That's good that he wasn't meaning for them to be insensitive, but he still sucks as an announcer and he needs to get the boot. He should be one of the color guys they cut to at halftime in the studio. He doesn't need to be in the booth. He should push for that b/c he manages to fill time talking nonsense well, but he doesn't focus enough on the actual game at hand.

[PhantomNJ]

Wynalda should be fired for no other reason than the fact that he's awful. Did he ever actually elaborate to you on what he was going to say?

Please exit stage right, Eric. Your 15 minutes of fame have long past expired. And by all means, take Lalas with you.

[Uncle Dave]

Everyone poo poos Wynalda, but tell me one guy that stands up for American soccer like him? Lalas? Thats another one people poop on for no reason. They are both doing what they can to build on the foundation they created in US Soccer.

[Uncle Dave]

Perfect Commentating Crew for our NATIONAL GAMES?

Ray Hudson on Color

JP Della - Straight man.

WORK ON IT ESPN!

And keep Wynalda around, as the guy at halftime.

[Brad]

Uncle Dave, are you on the reefer?

That's great that their US cheerleaders. God knows we need more of them. Well, at least US Soccer cheerleaders.

However, they both don't do their jobs well and isn't that what they're supposed to be doing? As we can all see, Lalas has no idea what he's doing as a GM. And Wynalda rarely actually talks soccer when he's in the booth. So, I should go on record as saying I appreciate what they have done and what they ARE doing for US Soccer, but that doesn't mean I should have to listen to them on the air during games. And that doesn't mean Lalas should keep getting jobs putting crappy teams together.

[Brooklyn Zoo]

ESPN needs to fire him, and hire the scottish dude from GOLTV with the great metaphors. That guy is hilarious! Anyone know his name?

[Brad]

they're, not their. my B.

[RS]

Maybe he (along with the rest of the ESPN clowns) should be let go for being terrible at their jobs. Now there is a common sense idea, huh?

I bet if you add up the time the "play-by-play" announcer is actually doing "play-by-play", it would add up to about 2 to 3 minutes per game out of a full 90. Just because the game is on TV and viewers can see what is happening, doesn't mean there should be NO play-by-play at all. I cant count how many times ESPN had pointless graphics come up during play. Worse yet is when the camera will be on the crowd or a sideline guy taking about nothing and then all of a sudden there is a cut back to the game and the ball is already in the air being whipped into the mixer. Not only do we have no idea what had just happened, but the announcer tries the give the old super-fast 3 second update so we are caught up.

They need to sit down this off season and listen to 3 or 4 European games per day to get a flavor of how a soccer match should be called. Two people in the booth seems to be one too many at times, let alone THREE PLUS a sideline guy.

I obviously like ESPN being an MLS partner because of its exposure and what it can do for the game in America (TV, web site, HD, etc.) but they need a lot of improvement and some major changes this offseason.

[Matt]

Brooklyn Zoo - he's not Scottish, he's a Geordie. It's Ray Hudson.

[Moibus]

I'd be curious to know how often that(having your mic cut off by a producer) ever happens to any other announcers, of any sport, on ESPN. I'd imagine almost never. It's happened to him twice this year?!

One might argue they haven't availed themselves of this option enough with Wynalda...but seriously, ESPN sits on pins and needles every time he's on the air waiting for him to embarrass them? How long is that going to last?

[Paul Lorinczi]

Football sounds more natural when it is announced by someone with an English accent.

If the American announcers would at least apply proper Football nomenclature into their announcements and quit trying to be hip and cool with their metaphors, I think more people could put up with them.

Yes...let's just use the English terms that apply to Football and quit trying to Americanize it. Frankly, I don't care about average Joe who knows nothing.

[Sanjeev Dev]

I'm still bitter about his comments about the USMNT from the last World Cup. The guys just loves making "push the envelope" type of comments. I don't think he's a liar, but why even bring up that situation in this manner? Why make a stupid comment that could only be construed badly? If he truly wanted to say something about the fires, he could have just brought it up and done so. No, he had to run his mouth as usual.

[h4]

I am still waiting for the partnership with the Budesliga to blossom in to better-produced soccer broadcasts. If the annoucers are bugging me, I can turn down the sound, but the picture i am stuck with -- even if it's crowd shots while a play is being made.

[FP from the Left Coast]

Keep Wynalda ESPN!
Wynalda is the type of color announcer you want in the booth. Someone who brings some insights and another way of looking at the game. He speaks with a sense of pride in the MLS and Nats games and is brutally honest to friend and foe. He keeps the game interesting if nothing else for his remarks, which is what a Color analyst is supposed to do.

[playtherapy]

My problem with Wynalda is he often overpowers the game commentary. Toja's wig night @ Pizza Hut Stadium in Fresno was the worst game commentary I've ever heard- often ten minutes would pass without any game commmentary. And could these guys talk!!! The truly awful part is this made a droll, lifeless match much worse.
Wynalda occasionally adds color but I'm glad he can get cut off as I've wanted to do just that many times - think of the numerous times Waldo was making an nongame comment- only to be interrupted by game commentary and Waldo tried to overpower the game commentary to get his point in???

[playtherapy]

My problem with Wynalda is he often overpowers the game commentary. Toja's wig night @ Pizza Hut Stadium in Fresno was the worst game commentary I've ever heard- often ten minutes would pass without any game commmentary. And could these guys talk!!! The truly awful part is this made a droll, lifeless match much worse.
Wynalda occasionally adds color but I'm glad he can get cut off as I've wanted to do just that many times - think of the numerous times Waldo was making an nongame comment- only to be interrupted by game commentary and Waldo tried to overpower the game commentary to get his point in???

[Michael F.]

Just like I mentioned when you first blogged about it - it's a non-issure.

[Haig]

Here's a vote for Wynalda. He brings the perspective of an articulate former player, is very at ease on the air, and makes observations that I don't hear other broadcasters make.

Was the above comment that "an English accent sounds more natural" for real? I'm hesitating to mock that remark, because it's so ridiculous that it has to be a joke.

[tommymcb]

Ray Hudson is terrible. He thinks the game isn't good enough to stand on its own. He is so desperate to draw people in with his nonsensical metaphores that he ends up taking away from the game.
Soccer fans can tell if the players are good and the game is exciting. We don't need this embarrassment of an announcer to ruin the games.

[green]

Geez that horse sure is dead.

[Braden]

Announcers shouldn't get in the way of watching a good game. Wynalda gets in the way with his nonsensical comments and meandering stories about nothing. For that matter, so does Tommy Smyth. I just want to watch a good soccer match and keep my dignity... Is that too much to ask?

[Joamiq]

I still don't really care about this story. Wynalda still bothers me as a color guy. Ray Hudson + JPDC would indeed be a dream team.

[Brad]

Cheers to Braden. That's exactly what needs to be said to ESPN. Ives, could you pass that along for us? Thanks.

[BMW_4_ever]

I believe him. Why would he intentionally joke about that when he and his family lives just miles from the fire.