The experiment is over. Gus Johnson has stepped down as FOX Sports' lead soccer play-by-play announcer.
SI.com reported on Sunday that Johnson made the decision to leave his post last week due to a combination of factors, including having a full schedule of college football and college basketball on his plate and some family matters. Johnson, 47, thought those things would hinder his ability to continue learning a sport he only recently began calling and that FOX and the public were deserving of more.
"What I realized about calling soccer and especially international soccer, I needed to do 35-40 games just to get my bars up and my chops going," Johnson told SI.com. "Because of my schedule, I never had a chance to get that kind of experience and work in. I always felt like I was cramming, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. If I am not the best I can be, I did not think it was something I should continue to do."
"To be quite frank with you, I was scared to death to do the Women’s World Cup," Johnson, who was expected to call next summer's tournament in Canada, later added. "Because I don’t know it. I don’t want to do my company a disservice, and more importantly, I don’t want to do the sport a disservice. I feel more comfortable with the men, and learning the women felt like a new language. Down the road, if I can get some rest and healing, I am not opposed to going back to do some soccer. Maybe not at the same pace as the No. 1 guy, but I’d love to be on the team."
Johnson called a few games on the radio for the San Jose Earthquakes in 2012 (highlights of one of his more memorable games) and was later announced as FOXs lead soccer announcer for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. He went on to call UEFA Champions League matches, including the past two finals, and the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup but received significant public criticism.
FOX Sports president Eric Shanks said the company was aware of the outcry but stated that it was not the decisive factor in the decision that leaves FOX with a big on-air role to fill.
"I am not going to lie and say we were unaware of it," Shanks told SI.com. "We make decisions based on how we feel, and in this case, in consultation with Gus."
In addition to the men's World Cups, 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cups and various age-level World Cups, FOX will return to broadcasting MLS matches in 2015 as part of an eight-year deal with the league and US Soccer. FOX also has the rights to the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Play-by-play announcers JP Dellacamera and John Strong have been regulars on FOX's coverage of the CONCACAF Champions League over the past two seasons.
As for Johnson, he still wants to call soccer games, but neither he nor Shanks has placed a timetable on that possibility.
"All we said at the end of the conversation was he still wanted to do games and I still wanted him to do game," said Shanks. "But we did not discuss which games those will be. I would like to see him in some capacity for 2018. But we have to figure what commitment we can make to him as far as getting him reps."
