The 20th MLS Cup Final is this Sunday and it would be an understatement to say that MLS has undergone many changes over the years. One thing that has stayed the same is that ABC and ESPN have broadcasted the previous 19 MLS Cup Finals and will do the same Sunday at 4:00 PM ET. As I was researching previous MLS Cup Finals for a different article, I stumbled across this familiar voice doing something a bit different than his normal duties at ESPN. Bob Ley apparently did play-by-play commentary for ABC in the 1997 MLS Cup Final.
This wouldn’t have been the only time Bob Ley took to the mic and called a game. His bio on espnfrontrow.com lists that he was “lead commentator for the 1998 World Cup” as well as play-by-play for “college basketball, boxing, soccer and CBA basketball” back in the early days of ESPN.
While it was said that Ley did play-by-play work, there isn’t much Bob Ley play-by-play commentary online. In fact, searching in various places, this clip below of the 1997 MLS Cup Final between D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids is it.
First things first, yes the clock counted down in the early days of MLS. MLS had some very bizarre rules in the early days and that was one of them.
Anyway, I found it interesting that Ley seemed to be more excited about the great chances that just missed than the actual goals themselves. You can tell Ley got more and more comfortable as the game went on but it seemed like he would have been better if he was regularly doing play-by-play. Obviously that probably couldn’t happen given Ley’s other duties at ESPN.
Regardless, even though Bob Ley didn’t quite have the play-by-play reps someone regularly doing it may have had, his longtime love of soccer clearly showed through his announcing and still put forth a pretty good game, although we really only heard about 10 minutes of the 90 minute game. And considering there weren’t as many skilled soccer broadcasters back then as we do now, Bob Ley did a pretty good job considering. And if this clip proves anything, it’s that it’s always great to see a legend trying something they don’t usually do.
