John Motson reveals how he broke his foot at World Cup ’94
ITV commentary team take note: this is passion
Despite getting on a bit and often finding himself prone to bouts of confusion over simple things like a goal-kick or a forward pass, John Motson is still one of the nation’s greatest football commentators (a fairly sad indictment on the state of Britain’s announcers and their punditry wingmen.)
A recent interview with ShortList magazine reveals the sort of endearing (albeit slightly worrying) obsessive, nerdy passion which propelled Motty to the top – and also left him walking with a limp during the 1994 World Cup, after kicking a bedpost and breaking his toe:
It was out of frustration at a game I’d commentated on that day. The editor insisted on putting a camera in the commentary position for halftime, which meant I couldn’t get as good a view on the game as I’d wanted. In commentary, things can go for you and against you. Like when the BBC made the decision to give Barry Davies that very Final. So I was in second place and had to find a way of coming back from it.
See? Wouldn’t get that from Clive Tyldesley.
Leave a comment