Around 3:30 Friday I got a call from Karik Krishnaiyer.

He sounded somewhat distraught and his tone of voice was not as energetic as it usually is when it comes to stories that he scoops. This one he had not desire of sharing or even talking about.

World Soccer Daily was no more.

Now that I have had 24 hours to really analyze the story a little more in depth I can see that Steven Cohen and his cast of blokes did have an impact on the game here in the United States- in the English-speaking community. This show did much more for the game here in the US than ESPN, Fux up Soccer Channel, US Soccer, and MLS combined.

No longer was the US national team coaching such a cushy position. We saw it in the Mexico match when Bob Bradley started to feel the heat. Guys like Cohen, Hassan, Geber criticized. No longer were the actions of the US Soccer Federation going under the radar. No longer was just slapping a soccer game on television enough.

ESPN got it and in megadoses. World Cup coverage, Champions League coverage, oh... and how can I forget the infamous Bottom Line. WSD gave ESPN fits about soccer coverage. No longer could the Worldwide Leader dumb down the American soccer fan. These people had taken enough of that and they were empowered by a legitimate forum where they could really express themselves to people that were not part of The Establishment. You could make an argument that this constant nitpicking was the reason why ESPN eventually lost the Champions League.

If it wasn't for his forum, "soccer snobs" would still be getting a constant dose of Dave O'Brien on television. Yes, he is the most hated man in Chicago, Bristol, and Liverpool. World Soccer Daily is gone because of us by action or omission. We let the show down and this action is just a microcosm of the empathy here in this neck of the woods. We are let a militant band of petulant cretins ruin it for the majority. I mean there were some guests that I really knew little about because I never followed the Premiership that much. I wasn't a complete ignorant of the league, I just had other leagues I preferred. But I have to thank Cohen and Kenny Hassan for teaching me about the Premiership. So for a person that grew up watching South America, Spain, and Italy... to hear about the Premiership was a bore. That's just personal preference and I am a quirky guy as far as taste is concerned anyway.

Sometimes I just couldn't listen to the show because they spoke about other leagues as if they were playing Six Degrees of Separation. It was kind of like Spanish talk radio shoving Mexican soccer down the throats of the rest of Latinos here in the US. The guys made an effort to talk about other leagues, but left me out there asking for more. That is the story of English-speaking soccer talk here in the United States- all England, all MLS, all the time.

I might be speaking for my other two partners on the Mad About Futbol Show, but there was little impact by World Soccer Daily being on the air or not. For one, the guys that write on this site usually get their news and listen to Spanish radio. We base our opinions based on what is said there. It is just ingrained in our culture and DNA. That said, World Soccer Daily was a refreshing change of pace, but just way too anglicized for my personal taste. I remember the day after the Barcelona's "Miracle at The Bridge", Cohen talked about how Barcelona was going to be "throttled" by Manchester United and they would show everyone "who the top league was". I was thrilled that much more when Carles Puyol lifted up "La Orejona" in Rome.

But people tuned in either on Sirius, iTunes, or whichever other way the show was available in order to do one thing- what were Steve and Kenny going to say. That is part of what makes a radio show and its personalities special

The few times I listened to the show I agreed with him about 49% of the time. Still regardless of the matter, I respected his opinion. As far as "The Reason"... I really know little about it, so my opinion is very limited. I listened the day after Chelsea was eliminated. I listened the day after Barca won it all. If there was one thing that he did was bask in his glories as much as he was gracious in his defeats. It's all part of the game. It's all part of this culture. It's all about being a fan- which was what he was first and foremost. That was the beauty of the show. He gave the fan's perspective without trying to be a pundit or a talking head.

For those of you...
If you have a big void because of WSD's demise and would not like to hear the drivel coming from English pipes- don't listen. BBC's 606 and the rest of the whiners on the other side of the pond aren't the only Pepsi in the desert. Let them drown in their misery and penis envy. There are other options to listen to. Ok, there aren't any daily talk shows... I can't argue with that, but there is quite a bit of information that other sites and podcasts can fill. At the same time, soccer podcasts will have to take it to another level and make the competition fierce. This is all because of World Soccer Daily. Because if it weren't for that show, we would have never known if soccer on the radio was truly feasible.

Also check out...
Boston Pro Soccer Examiner Pt.1/ Pt.2
The Third Half