Q&A with the SA Editors: Nov. 7, 1997

Rich Oswald

Annandale, NJ

Was the Jamaican player (Deon Burton) who scored against the U.S. at RFK offside? I was there and at a point in the stands on the same side of the field and just about even with Agoos when he made the attempted pass that led to the goal. In my mind’s eye, things went like this… The pass was sent toward Dooley, who was the only other U.S. player in the area. (Shame on the midfield!). The pass was deflected off the knee or shin of a Jamaican player pressuring Agoos and the ball went into Burton’s path toward goal. When Burton received the deflected ball, the nearest U.S. player was Dooley. Burton was closer to the goal then either Agoos or Dooley when the pass was made. If I saw this correctly and since the deflection came from a Jamaican… Offside! Or did it happen differently?

Ridge Mahoney: Rich, your interpretation of the law is correct, but your recount of the events is not quite right, which isn’t surprising, since it happened so fast and the situation seemed so safe. When Agoos tried to pass the ball, he and Hall were about a yard and a half closer to the goal than Burton, who was right on the penalty-area line, 18 yards from goal. So when the ball caromed off Hall’s leg, Burton was not only behind the ball, he was also not closer to the goal than Agoos and Keller. What was deceiving was that the ball deflected off Hall towards the goal, and Burton’s running forward to shoot. In other words, this was a classic example of a play that looked offside, since by the time Burton ran onto the ball, he was indeed closer to the goal than Agoos. Had the ball deflected directly to where Burton was standing when Agoos attempted his pass, it would would been obvious he was not offside, since the ball would have traveled slightly away from goal. This is why the linesman (referee’s assistant, if you prefer) is instructed to stay in-line with the last defender, in this case, Agoos. If properly positioned, he can clearly see in this case that both Burton and Hall were not offside, specifically that Burton was behind his teammate when the ball deflected off Hall’s leg, and the goal should stand. You were very observant to bring up this point. I checked the videotape myself the day after the game. Well-spotted!

Tampa, Fla.

Why is it so difficult to find out until the very last minute whether U.S. men’s national team CONCACAF away games are on TV? Shouldn’t that fact be included in internet/ newsbrief/newspaper stories and U.S. Soccer press releases? For instance, is the USA-Canada game Nov. 9 on Univision or ESPN? Why does this remain a mystery until the last minute?

Paul Kennedy: The answer is simple: rights aren’t finalized until the last minute. Rights for away games are often in the hands of third-parties — the principal operator in the CONCACAF region is Inter-Forever, the Miami-based company with ties to Traffic, the Brazilian-based TV & marketing outfit. They will wait to see who is the highest bidder. In the U.S., it can be a network (ABC), cable (ESPN or ESPN2), Spanish-language (Univision or Telemundo, or Fox Sports Americas, for that matter) or pay-per-view (via resident, bar or arena). Rights can also depend on whether the game is to be shown live or delayed (Canada-USA is live on Univision and delayed on the Deuce; the El Salvador-Jamaica is a pay-per-view deal — Salvadoran establishments — but Univision should have updates that pass for news usage). The value of the rights depend on the importance of the game and that cannot be often determined until the last minute. If the U.S. had taken all the points it should have — win in Jamaica, tie in Costa Rica, win in El Salvador, win at home against Jamaica — the game would have been meaningless and had little market value. Until the lawyers then get through with all the fine print, networks, big and small, are reluctant to publicize the fact that the game will be on.

Los Gatos, CA

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of being redshirted as a freshman?

Mike Woitalla: NCAA Division I athletes are granted four years of eligibility within a five-year period. Therefore, freshmen could red-shirt their first season and still play four years of ball. The obvious negative would be for students who are planning to graduate within four years. Since soccer is a fall sport, a player red-shirted the freshman year could go to school four and a half years. (A factor is, who’s paying the tuition?) An obvious reason for red-shirting would be injury. (That’s where the term comes from: The injured athlete would wear a red-shirt in practice so that others would treat him cautiously.) Sometimes a freshman red-shirts because the team is stacked with upper-class talent that year, and the freshman’s talent is saved for later. Such strategic red-shirting can backfire. UCLA red-shirted Joe-Max Moore his freshman year, then he ended up leaving after his junior year, for pro ball. Had he not red-shirted, UCLA would have gotten four years out of him, instead of only three. I suppose when it comes to making the decision, much would have to do with what the coach wanted. However, if a freshman believes he can get playing time his first year, I see no reason to wait. The 18 or 19-year-old player needs as much competitive play as possible.

Arlington, MA

Why hasn’t Steve Sampson called up Tony Sanneh to train, let alone play, with the national team? Earlier this year, Sampson thought enough of Sanneh to start him in a match, but Sanneh then disappeared. I suppose one explanation might be Sanneh’s play. However, if some miscues spelled doom for all players, there would be few players left in the national team pool. Sanneh has done well this season. He looks consistently dangerous. He is not by any means the answer to all of the U.S. team’s incosistency, but I find his appearance and disappearance hard to understand.

Duncan Irving: I asked Sampson about this in between the Mexico and El Salvador games this spring. His reponse was along the lines of: sometimes you take a gamble and it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. Eddie Pope did work out, Tony Sanneh didn’t. Result: bye-bye Tony. Sanneh had a very solid season with United and deserves another look at the Chula Vista training camp post-qualifying. In recent qualifiers, however, expediency has been the key — Sampson is favoring old pros like Wegerle and Vermes, rather than blooding youngsters. Fielding Sanneh against Costa Rica was a grave error and the coach owes it to the player to give him another shot at a later date. The over-30 club in the U.S. squad is swelling. This is a cause for concern, but it will not be addressed until the Americans’ berth at France ’98 is assured, if at all.

Provo, UT

Why isn’t BYU womens soccer team ranked in your latest poll? They have only one loss, a record of 16-1 this year, 38-2 over the last two years and have beaten the #18 team UCLA 3-1 this year. The computer rankings (Sagarin, Jones) have them in the Top 10, and rank their schedule in the Top 30. What do they have to do to get the respect they deserve, and who votes on this poll?

Pete Bailey: Tracy, the editorial staff of SA votes for the Top 20. We ranked BYU several weeks ago after they beat UCLA, but they then lost 3-0 to unranked San Diego State and dropped from the poll. (After beating Cal Poly SLO and losing to Pacific, BYU concluded its regular season 17-2-0.) Meanwhile, UCLA swept Cal and Stanford on the road and beat USC at home. BYU has a better schedule this year than they did in 1996, but they’ve still only faced one ranked opponent. The best way to get into the Top 20 is to amass some quality wins (particularly over ranked teams). BYU has an opportunity to prove itself this weekend, when it faces #16 SMU in the WAC tournament final.

Mission Viejo, CA

I am having an argument with a die-hard (American) football fan who insists the NFL Super Bowl has a larger world-wide TV audience than the World Cup finals. What was the estimated world-wide TV audience for last year’s NFL Super Bowl? What was the estimated world-wide TV audience for the last World Cup?

Paul Kennedy: ISL, FIFA’s marketing arm, is quoting 38 billion viewers as the audience for the ’98 World Cup in France, an average of roughly 600 million a game. It’s unlikely the Super Bowl even attains this average.