SPORTS MEDIA
Four years after his polarizing stint as ESPN's and ABC's primaryWorld Cup soccer play-by-play voice in Germany, Dave O'Brien said heis finding great enjoyment in this year's tournament, albeit from amuch different vantage point.
"I'm watching every minute. Watching every minute I can see,"said O'Brien, who spends most of his working hours following adifferent ball, partnering with Joe Castiglione for his fourthseason on Red Sox radio broadcasts while also calling ESPN's"Wednesday Night Baseball" telecasts.
"I think it's spectacular," he added. "I think I'm there. I don'tfeel like I'm missing it because, as a fan now, I get to experiencewhat everyone else experienced in '06, this incredible eventunfolding day by day. So I don't miss it."
While O'Brien, an exceptional baseball broadcaster, deftlynavigates his way onto the high road, he is aware how his 2006 stintis perceived: Hard-core soccer aficionados, who derided him as a"baseball guy" and took to the Internet with their verbal pitchforksafter he made gaffes such as mixing up England icons David Beckhamand Michael Owen four years ago, don't miss him, either. PopularBritish soccer broadcaster Martin Tyler is now in the lead role inthe ESPN/ABC booth.
O'Brien, who was teamed with underwhelming analyst Marcelo Balboafour years ago, says now that the criticism doesn't damage his fondmemories.
"It was a tremendously positive experience," O'Brien said. "Wegot nominated for an Emmy for the work we did in '06, the ratingswere great. All the barometers we wanted to hit, we hit.
"I look back on it as an experience I'll never forget. I lovedevery second of it. It changed my perspective of global sports. Ibelieve every American should see a World Cup overseas, for 100great reasons. I'm delighted that I got a chance to do it."
O'Brien wasn't so gracious four years ago. In the June 14, 2006,edition of USA Today, he told media writer Michael Hiestand thatsoccer fans were holding his background against him.
"I'm a baseball guy," O'Brien told Hiestand. "And that's a dirtyword among soccer enthusiasts. There was a backlash before I did asingle game. . . . There's kind of a petulant little clique ofsoccer fans. There's not many of them, but they're mean-spirited."
The fans' dissent originated well before the 2006 World Cup beganwhen ESPN named O'Brien, a novice at calling soccer, to the leadingrole. The explanation executive producer Jed Drake gave theWashington Times was that ESPN wanted to take a "signature voicefrom a mainstream sport . . . and make it the signature voice ofthis event."
In retrospect, it was a misguided decision despite O'Brien'sability; any casual viewers that were drawn in by the approach wereoffset by the aggravation among the more passionate fans.
O'Brien, who said it was his decision "to remove himself from theequation this year," has clearly moved past any frustrations heharbored four years ago.
"Looking back, I think in some way, we helped move the coverageforward in a direction it needed to go," he said. "There were somegrowing pains there. I think that to get to this level, at the levelof the presentation the games are at now, maybe that had to happen.
"I could understand if someone had skepticism, but I really feellike as much as I'm watching, I feel like I'm right there. In alltruth, I made the decision to not be a part of it this year becauseof my Red Sox commitment. And I couldn't take six weeks off frombaseball season to do anything else.
"I did that in '06, and was asked to call the Cup and had thetime of my life. I get the same passion right now at Fenway Parkthat you get in South Africa."
The passion - perhaps a better word in some instances is"obsession" - of Red Sox fans isn't all that different from whatO'Brien recognized in soccer fans four years ago.
"I think it's not a bad comparison, because if you talk toEnglish soccer fans about the Premier League, their favorite teamsin the Premier League, they're so invested, like Red Sox fans arewith their team," O'Brien said. "There's nothing you know as abroadcaster that they don't know about their team.
"They may not be reading about current events around the world,if there's an earthquake or an oil spill, but they can tell youwhich striker has a tender Achilles' today. That's how Sox fans arewith Dustin Pedroia's knee and Josh Beckett's back.
"That's one of the reasons I came back home" - O'Brien grew upin New Hampshire - "to call the Red Sox, because I wanted to bepart of that. And I certainly got that in the World Cup."
Sports Hub rising
One conclusion from May's Arbitron ratings, which were releasedyesterday: 98.5 The Sports Hub, which launched in August 2009, is nolonger an upstart underdog, but a legitimate challenger capable ofwinning some crucial rounds against established sports radioheavyweight WEEI.
In a ratings period that covered April 29 to May 26, WEEIremained strong, finishing second overall among men 25-54, the mostcoveted demographic, with a 7.0. The Sports Hub was tied with WXKSfor third at 5.7. WZLX was first (8.5).
But among individual programs, The Sports Hub had some victoriesthat would have seemed improbable just months ago.
The Felger and Massarotti Show in the 2-6 p.m. time slot finishedsecond with males 25-54 with a 7.3 rating. WEEI's "The Big Show" wasthird with a 6.5. Among men 18-49 in the same time slot, The SportsHub was first with 7.6, while WEEI was seventh (5.1).
In the 6-7 p.m. hour, "The Baseball Reporters," hosted by TonyMassarotti, beat the WEEI Red Sox pregame show in every male demo.
In the mornings from 6-10, WEEI's "Dennis and Callahan" show tiedfor first with WAAF's "The Hill-man Morning Show" with a 7.6 in themen 25-54 category. The Sports Hub's "Toucher and Rich" show wasfifth (6.9), but among males 18-49 in the time slot, The Sports Hubwas second (7.2), while WEEI was fifth (5.9).
In the middays from 10-2 p.m., WEEI's The Dale and Holley Showwas tied for third (5.3), while The Sports Hub's "Gresh and Zo"program was fifth (4.8).
At night (7-12 p.m.) WEEI, which features Mike Adams's "PlanetMikey" show, was first (25-54 men) with an 11.2. "The D.A. Show,"hosted by Damon Amendolara, was third (7.4), with Bruins postseasongames also figuring into those ratings.
Chad Finn can be reached at finn @globe.com. Follow him onTwitter @globechadfinn.
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