Review of Community Shield Coverage on Fox

It’s back again and it feels just as good as it did in May. Of course, I’m talking about English soccer and the Community Shield final, which kicked off today on Fox Soccer Channel.

It wasn’t a classic (the Community Shield rarely is) but the quality of play on the pitch was more impressive than I expected. I’ll dissect the performance on the pitch in tonight’s EPL Talk Podcast but will focus here on the coverage.

First, Fox Soccer Channel’s coverage kicked off with an impressive 2-3 minute introduction to build up excitement for the match. On the pitch, everything looked new and polished. The new lettering on the back of the shirts. The new Man United jersey. The different way the team names are displayed (font and type size) in the top left corner (courtesy of BBC).

Second, I was annoyed by the shadows on the pitch. In the first half it was so bad that practically three-quarters of the pitch was in darkness making it extremely difficult to see the action at times. I can’t even remember the last time I remember the first half of a match being ruined so much by shadows. Even the Copa America match between Brazil and Uruguay that was in darkness from a faulty floodlight had a better picture clarity than today’s charity match.

Third, it was a pleasure to watch the camera work on display today in comparison to the dizzying effects and overhead cameras that ESPN usually employ.

The match, overall, was an enjoyable experience with penalties being a fair outcome seeing that both sides had their chances to put the game away. With their win, Man United can mentally prepare for the new season. Chelsea, meanwhile, played better than I expected but need to hope that their injury crisis subsides before the season kicks off on Saturday.