The FIFA World Cup is a particularly emotional event for commentators to cover, as they have their own long-held national team affiliations to reckon with while covering the thrill of one of the world’s great sporting events.
On Wednesday, it was Fox’s Rebecca Lowe’s turn to deal with the agony that can come in defeat. Lowe, who was born in England before moving to the U.S. for her career as a soccer broadcaster, watched from the Fox set as England suffered a crushing 1-2 loss to Argentina.
Though Lowe handled the situation professionally just as Thierry Henry did when France lost the previous day, or Alexi Lalas did after the USMNT’s ugly loss in the Round of 16, Lalas took the opportunity to salute Lowe for her class in a tough moment.
“I would expect nothing less, but Rebecca, I know you are a human being first and foremost, and I know that you are an England fan and what you saw and experienced emotionally,” Lalas said.
“And we see it all over the place. This was an incredible run. You’re also an incredible professional in what you do because I know you’re feeling it right now, as all of the England fans are, to get so close. But we love you, and we love this team and what it brought to this tournament.”
After Lalas’ message, Lowe noted she had received hugs from Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović. The camera, however, showed images of the post-match reactions of the English and Argentinian players, so viewers could not see Lowe’s reaction or the embrace she shared with her colleagues.
Just about every fanbase has to deal with disappointment as the World Cup whittles itself from a full field to just one champion. But England’s history in the tournament is particularly tortured, as soccer’s birth country has failed to win one since 1966. To see the Three Lions make the semifinal yet still flame out had to be hard on Lowe, and it was a testament to the new-look studio team’s genuine connection that Lalas and the other panelists would care for her in that spot.
As Lowe signed off from Fox’s coverage for the day, she noted her appreciation of the analysts for their “support.”
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.