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| Fox Network comes through for the troops |
| 2006-06-15 |
| June 15, 2006: Anti-Americanism has reached a new low. FIFA, the international sports organization for football (soccer to Americans) refused to allow U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (and warships at sea) to view any of the current World Cup games being played in Germany. The U.S. AFN (Armed Forces Network) has no budget for sports programming, and usually gets a free feed for major sporting events, in the same spirit that movie studios and TV networks provide free access to their product for troops in combat zones. FIFA demanded money, and would not budge on that. While soccer is not a major sport in the United States, it's estimated that a quarter or more of the troops are fans, and would enjoy seeing some of the World Cup matches. However, once this situation became known, several wealthy Americans stepped forward to correct the situation. The first one to make a move was media magnate Robert Murdoch, who ordered his Fox Network to make arrangements, and pay whatever FIFA was demanding, to get the soccer games to the troops, as soon as possible. This was accomplished in 24 hours. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #14 Rupert Murdoch...naturalized American in 1985. |
| Posted by: Hupoger Spash9721 2006-06-15 18:13 |
| #13 I must be the dense one, goes to show what I know about his nationality. Thanks for the correction Mous5089. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-06-15 16:26 |
| #12 what a great American! Sorry if I sound dense, but isn't Murdoch australian? Or was he naturalized? |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-06-15 16:24 |
| #11 My youngest son is in Youth Soccer, kids are more interested in it than football. But the bigger story is Mr. Murdoch, what a great American! It's nice to hear about Americans that jump up and do what's right without being asked or grandstanding after. Another reason to support FOX network. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-06-15 16:17 |
| #10 My daughter played youth soccer and even played a couple of years in high school until her allergies to grass got too severe for her allergy medicine to handle. Most of the kids around here play soccer and enjoy it. We also have huge t-ball and pee-wee football programs, too. It's something to get kids interested in instead of vegetating in front of the tv, and give them a bit of exercise. Soccer will never replace football as a primary sport, but it's a good addition to the year-round sports programs that give kids a chance to participate in team activities. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-06-15 14:22 |
| #9 While soccer is not a major sport in the United States, it's estimated that a quarter or more of the troops are fans, and would enjoy seeing some of the World Cup matches. Umm, actually we were fans of watching women's curling during the Olympics in February to. The boys out there were also fans of the Masters in March so it doesn't really matter - put the damn sports on!! |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-06-15 12:48 |
| #8 Yeah I agree with a few up there, everywhere I've lived in America had AYSO AMerican Youth Soccer Organization. Soccer is big with kids because moms are less worried they'll get hurt and even out of shape kids can be goalie or a fullback. By the time kids get into High School in America the ones playing soccer are generally not the cool athletes. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-06-15 12:26 |
| #7 Unlike many American communities You must not live in America :-) |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-06-15 12:06 |
| #6 FIFA, the international sports organization for football (soccer to Americans) refused to allow U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (and warships at sea) to view any of the current World Cup games being played in Germany. The U.S. AFN (Armed Forces Network) has no budget for sports programming, and usually gets a free feed for major sporting events, in the same spirit that movie studios and TV networks provide free access to their product for troops in combat zones. FIFA demanded money, and would not budge on that. I wonder if FIFA provided World Cup feed for Canadian troops in Afghanistan? ..doubt it. ..waiting for Rafael »:-) |
| Posted by: RD 2006-06-15 11:43 |
| #5 Good for Rupert Murdoch. Note not Robert. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-06-15 11:26 |
| #4 Unlike many American communities, You must not live around Chicago. We got more rugrat soccer leagues than you can imagine. I even coached for a couple of years (talk about the blind leading the blind). |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-06-15 11:19 |
| #3 Unlike many American communities, you go on to most military installations with noticable on base housing and you find a lot of kids' soccer leagues running full steam ahead. Consider it a major cross culture exchange for 50 years of major troop deployment in Europe. |
| Posted by: Flons Croque2804 2006-06-15 11:10 |
| #2 Might've found another answer to the question posed yesterday...Soccer-Mad World Asks: Why Don't Americans Care? I guess we can add "Because FIFA sucks!" to the list. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-06-15 10:49 |
| #1 WTG Murdoch, Shame on you FIFA. If FIFA wants the sport to grow in the U.S. it might to help by doing little favors like this for the U.S. I think they call it “pullanka” (sp) in Spanish which means to “pull the lever” it is synonymous with a bribe. A little pullanka in the U.S. goes a long way. But hey we only have the world’s largest economy and we can spend it on any sports entertainment we want. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-06-15 10:43 |