World Cup '14: Number Four for Germany

FIFA World Cup 2014 logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In spite of the protests, the bloated budgets for stadiums (and the political fallout that might result), and the failure of its team to win at home, Brazil did well as hosts of the 2014 FIFA Men's World Cup.

Everyone seems to agree that the right team--Germany--won soccer's world championship this time.  Mario Goetze scored the only goal in the finals late in extra time to giver his country a 1-0 victory over Argentina.  Not only was this Germany's fourth World Cup title, but the first since East and West were reunited.  It was also the first time a European team has won this tournament in the Americas.

Earlier, Germany stunned the world with their 7-1 pasting of Brazil in the semifinals, plunging that country into mourning.  The loss of Neymar, the Brazilians' best player, was a contributing factor.  But nobody expected a collapse like this, a situation compounded by their getting shut out in the third-place game by the Netherlands.

As the soccer world looks toward Russia in 2018, ESPN will be handing off its World Cup TV coverage after two decades to Fox.  This has been causing a lot of nervousness among American soccer fans, because ESPN had finally started taking the sport seriously.  For one thing, they replaced novice American announcers with more seasoned British commentators such as Ian Darke and Derek Rae.  This approach, along with the United States team being more competitive, has resulted in the highest TV ratings soccer has seen in this country.

The problem lies with what Fox might do with its World Cup coverage, starting with the women's tournament in 2015.  Would they follow ESPN's lead and treat the sport and its viewers with respect, or would they just dumb it down with animated robots and the "NFL on Fox" theme--just like they do with everything else?  (We can't wait to see how they'll do golf's U.S. Open starting next year.)

One sign that Fox might pander to the lowest-common denominator is the inclusion of Gus Johnson as its lead soccer voice.  Much better known for covering football and basketball in a style that suggests he should be calling NHL hockey instead, Johnson has not gotten high marks from soccer fans in the matches he's done so far.

It's true that soccer in the U.S. needs its own Al Michaels, Marv Albert, Vin Scully and Mike Emrick.  Ian Darke and Derek Rae have come the closest to achieving this level.  But Fox believes Johnson is the future.  Is he that guy?  We don't know.

One thing we do know:  Soccer is a sport that can unify a nation in victory.  It can also break your heart.  Just ask Germany.  Or Brazil.