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My view Lack of TV coverage crosses the linePosted: Wednesday October 16, 2002 7:16 PMUpdated: Wednesday October 16, 2002 7:17 PM
By Ridge Mahoney, Soccer America The more things change with MLS, the more they stay the same on SportsCenter. Great games and great goals have been cast into a great void. A season of tension and drama and spectacle has been ignored again by those who produce ESPN's highlights show. On their desks must read a placard stating: "The Soccer Stops Here." This intransigence is nothing new. ESPN -- ostensibly the league's broadcast partner -- has drawn the line at what MLS coverage it will tolerate. Games can be televised, yes, as long as they don't conflict with college football and college basketball and baseball and the NFL and NHL and don't run too long and thus cut into the airtime devoted to showcase fishing and cheerleading and, of course, SportsCenter. The MLS game of the week is no longer on ESPN. Watch an MLS game on ESPN2 and sometimes you can see the players and the ball among graphics promoting baseball, football, NASCAR and truck racing. But if you watch those other sports, do you see a plug for an MLS game? Sorry, partner. A network seldom shy about saturating its programs with announcements of its other programs draws the line at MLS. The SportsCenter nadir may have been reached July 4. Colorado and Los Angeles drew huge crowds, and 18 goals were scored in six games, but after SportsCenter covered baseball and auto racing, it filled three minutes with a hot-dog-eating contest. MLS TV ratings and attendances have escalated since the World Cup, which by the way helped drive ESPN's summer ratings. The network has trumpeted those ratings with nary a mention of the monthlong competition that compelled viewers to stay up late or get up early to generate unprecedented numbers. Soccer did the business. ESPN took the credit. MLS ain't the World Cup. But all concerned acknowledged the crossover and connections of America's players and its sports fans. That line has been crossed. It's time for SportsCenter to get in line.
Ridge Mahoney is a senior editor at Soccer America magazine.
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