What time do you want to meet for lunch? Be there at 1 p.m, but I’m not showing up until 2 p.m. to eat.
This is how Fox Sports dishonestly promotes the World Cup start times. It is disrespectful, though, not unexpected.
For Monday’s eight years in the waiting United States match against Wales, Fox’s graphics kept saying that “coverage begins at 1.”
One problem? Kickoff was at 2.
While others do this, too, it is particularly bad when the event is around the world in Qatar with a time difference that makes start times unusual for fans.
For Tuesday morning’s Argentina game, Fox Sports has promoted that coverage begins at 4 a.m., though the game’s kickoff is 5 a.m.
Who needs an hour extra of sleep? Plus, subjecting fans to Alexi Lalas in the pregame is cruel and unusual punishment at any hour.
In a peak of honesty on Monday morning, working England’s demolition of Iran, play-by-player Ian Darke, at 68 and with the chops to do what he wants, added the United States game will actually begin at 2 p.m. But that is not the norm. We heard no other Fox Sports announcer to do it in two days of coverage.
Of all the problems with the World Cup, this is not at the top of the list. Qatar bribed its way to host the event, which resulted in the games moving from the summer to the winter, the banning of beer being sold to fans in the stadium and, the latest, players being disallowed from wearing rainbow colored captain’s “OneLove” anti-discrimination armbands with a risk of being assessed a yellow card, if they do.
Fox Sports isn’t being forthcoming with fans about start times at the World Cup.FIFA/FIFA via Getty ImagesFollow all the 2022 World Cup action with more from the New York Post
Like NBC and the Olympics, Fox did not choose the Cup host, but it dictates how to cover it. It is understood that they are there to showcase the games. But you need to be there before the fire starts so the issues surrounding these games need to be part of the coverage because eventually they may be a very big deal.
First, maybe Fox Sports can tell fans the right time to show up for lunch.
Iger’s impact on ESPN
Bob Iger’s return to Disney will have ramifications on ESPN. It is probably a positive for ESPN, as Iger was a supporter during his first reign at Disney. (How could he not be as its earnings allowed him to buy a lot of other things?) Iger chose Jimmy Pitaro as the head of ESPN so he will likely want to keep it on a similar path. Iger also has a strong relationship with the NBA, which probably means good things for a potential continuation of Disney/ABC/ESPN’s relationship with the league when the new TV rights deals are up for renewal in 2025. That said, Iger did not make the Disney stock jump with his return because he was unwilling to change course. … One really interesting question, “What if?” If Iger had returned as the head of Disney a year ago, would Al Michaels, who is buddies with Iger, end up returning to “Monday Night Football?” That would have changed the entire landscape of the crazy NFL TV free agency we just witnessed.
Clicker Book Club
World Cup reading: Papa Clicker writes that, as the world watches the 2022 World Cup, author Clemente A. Lisi’s “The FIFA World Cup, A History of the Planet’s Biggest Sporting Event,” goes into detail of each year’s key matches, the changes that have occurred over the years ( for example the introduction of the red and yellows cards and the recent use of Video Assistant Referee or VAR) and biographies of some of the game’s GOATs from 1930 to today. This book is both an enjoyable read and a handy reference. Papa Clicker, Herb Marchand, gives it a really strong 4.5 out of 5 clickers.
