Editor's Note: New MFUSA contributor David T. Hammons has impeccable timing, and presents his perspective on why "Soccer Talk Live" represents a step forward for soccer in the United States.

by David T. Hammons

Kyle Martino is on the verge of offering Fox Soccer Channel and the newly-found American soccer fans something that this sport desperately needs to keep them interested in "The Beautiful Game."


News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, which owns Fox Soccer Channel, now comprehends what will attract more Americans to watch their shows - Americans want an American product.


Martino, a former member of the United States Men's National Team, has decided to leave ESPN and to join FSC and host their new show, Soccer Talk Live.


Fox Soccer Channel has decided that this is the perfect time to cash in on the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup by producing a show purely dedicated to the American game - and not the other "bigger" European or South American leagues.


This proves to be a bit of brilliance by Fox Soccer, because they are bringing a young, bright individual who understands the American point of view.


Martino, who had a six year stint in Major League Soccer, comes across as a hearty, grassroot-American that has played on every level of soccer that this country has to offer.


Whether it was the youth and high School soccer in Connecticut, collegiate soccer at the University of Virginia, or professional level with MLS he will be able to connect to each and every player on those different levels.


This is not to slate Nick Webster or Eric Wynalda, who co-hosted the now-canceled Fox Football Fone-in, in anyway, but having a someone like Martino who has played at each level in the States offers something completely different to their first-time viewers.


Like Wynalda, Martino will offer honest opinions, but he does it in a way that most Americans soccer fans can and will relate to.


However, there is nothing more a proud American dislikes than a cocky Englishman, which Wynalda acted like, and his predecessor, Steven Cohen, clearly was - but that is what the producers wanted back then - not now!


Fox Soccer Channel needs to have British commentators and critics, but for the new soccer fans here, they cannot are not able to relate to them with their different terminology like someone born in Connecticut would offer.


However, being an American does not necessarily mean that you will strike a relationship with the adoring soccer fans and two prime examples of this were Max Bretos and Allen Hopkins, who both could not leave the Los Angeles-based company quick enough for ESPN, or as Dan Patrick refers to it, The Evil Mothership.


Of course, Bretos and Hopkins both appreciate soccer, but their selfish demeanor was very easy to read, and to a growing sport, that is the exact opposite thing that they need and fans were turned off by it.


With one of the major networks, News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, now completely on board, soccer should start becoming one of the major sports here in the United States.


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I took in my first bit of the now two-week old "Soccer Talk Live" on Fox Soccer Channel last night. Hosted by ex-Crew and Galaxy midfielder Kyle Martino, the show is the direct replacement for the relatively long-running "Fox Football Fone-in." Unfortunately for Soccer Talk Live, I can't imagine it will last quite as long as its predecessor.


Martino is a competent enough host. He's got charisma, and despite a bit of put-on game show-host-like persona, appears to be the right man for the job. If you buy the idea that a soccer-themed talk show is worth the effort, than Martino in the host chair is a good place to start. It's too bad then that everything else around him is a disaster.


Fox Soccer Channel has a reputation for being notoriously cheap. Soccer Talk Live certainly feeds that rep, with a set that screams "public access"; despite a decent concept, STL's success is almost more dependent on the the visual presentation than the quality of its content. Martino could fantastic (he's not, but is getting better), and the guests could be top-notch, but if the show looks like it's emanating from a public access studio, it will all be for not. Right now, that's exactly how STL looks.


Meanwhile, I'm left to wonder why FSC felt the need to put this show on live. Yes, they've woven in live viewer questions through social media and email, but instead of adding to the interview in question they tend to bring it to a grinding halt. The mechanism for interjecting the questions from email and Twitter, a holdover from FFF in the form of a female presence set off to the side of the main set, is clunky at best and more accurately put, completely unnecessary.


If the show is going to be live, the logical step would be to add a studio audience; several times during the portion of the show I watched, Martino's one-liners fell flat or came off forced because there was no audible reaction from the guest(s). A studio audience, even a small one, would give the show a warmer and more engaging feel.


Not that I imagine it would be easy to find such a group.


Two items I didn't see enough to comment on: Martino's sidekick, a soccer-loving comedian named Bredan Hunt, and "Fast Lane", the feature portion of the show with Temryss Lane out at the Miss Galaxy pageant. It would be unfair of me to give an opinion on what they bring to Soccer Talk Live without having seen them first hand.


I'm intrigued by the approach to Soccer Talk Live, and I applaud whichever mind at FSC conceived of the concept. The show will have difficulty gaining traction because it attempts to meld soccer and pop culture, but the effort is commendable; taking the steps to break the nerdish shackles that too often confines soccer in the US is a wonderful idea. Perhaps FSC is the wrong venue for the show because its viewership is almost completely made up of obsessed footy fans who would prefer to hear only discussion on games, tactics and transfer rumors, but there should be room for a show like Soccer Talk Live in the growing American soccer scene.


But concept alone is not enough to carry them through, and without a significant investment on the part of FSC or their coporate overlords, I have trouble believing that Soccer Talk Live will be with us for too long. FFF was easy because it leaned heavily on direct viewer interaction via the phone, essentially operating as a radio show on TV. Soccer Talk Live is a much more difficult show to pull off, and while Martino is capable, the infrastructure around him might make it impossible to do the show well.


I expect STL will get better, perhaps much better, in the coming weeks. I may even give it more of my time, if only because I don't have anything more important to watch on Monday nights.


Just as long as their not playing that terrible Trivia-plus-cornhole game. What was that?