The Fall of World Soccer Daily

I was surprised to find out today that World Soccer Daily is now officially off the air. Steven Cohen and his controversial opinions aside it's unfortunate that the only daily radio program that celebrates the beautiful game is now silent. I've been a loyal listener for two years and the program had become a regular listen for me on the podcast while I was making my one hour commute to work and on my frequent business travels.

As far as the controversy I really wish that both sides could have worked something out before it mushroomed into an uncontrollable level of antagonism that got personal. It's almost crazy to think that a group of fan supporters could bring down a successful program that had been on the air in the US for seven years, but that's exactly what happened. I can't help but think if WSD and Steven would have invited the Liverpool supporters on to the show to clear the air and let the supporters tell their side of the story they could have put the controversy to bed and not derailed a program that so many have enjoyed over the years.

As far as the comments being "dangerous", I understand that to a point, but the tragedy doesn't resonate all that much with your average US soccer fan. In the end it's the US soccer fan who's been trapped in the middle and suffered from this dispute. As far as Steven's comments I just don't know that much about the tragedy to even comment on it. You have to feel for the guy. Seven years of hard work in building a program with solid advertisers and a place on satellite radio is down the drain in a matter of months based on a two minute dialogue--- a dialogue I didn't even realize would be that controversial when I listened to it.

My hope is that the show comes back on the air in some different type of format without Steven Cohen. He could potentially play a role behind the scenes, maybe with Kenny Hassan joining another host. With all the momentum that soccer has gained in the US this year it would be nice to see some type of program come in and fill the void. Podcasts are nice but you miss the callers, the banter, and the ability to report breaking news on a timely basis. There's a huge void to fill and I'm curious if ESPN would be willing to step in and provide a daily program or podcast.