The best football commentators in the business are those who believe in spontaneity; those who get totally carried away in the moment. Give us a Barry Davies 'look at his face! just look at his face!' over the rehearsed bluster of Jonathan Pearce any day. RTE's Stephen Alkin falls into the former category.
Alkin comes across as being absolutely delighted to be present at major tournament games, an enthusiasm which is infectious. Compare this to the laconic drones of Mark Lawrenson or Danny Murphy, who treat the privilege of having the best seat in the house as a kind of existential burden upon their souls.
Alkin always adds to the experience, however. The corollary of being so enthusiastic is that sometimes, to paraphrase Jurgen Klopp, one's mouth runs like a waterfall, with words pouring forth before they've been given the chance to be filtered. Alkin fell foul to such flow last night, as Cristiano Ronaldo smashed a penalty against the butt of the post against Austria last night. As the ball rebounded travelled back to Ronaldo speckled with white paint, the RTE commentator proclaimed:
He hits the post - unbelievable!
The arrogance of the man! The whole goal at his mercy, the goalie went the wrong way and he stroked it against the post.
Among the multitudes bemused by the comments was Richie Sadlier, saying in the RTE Studios after the game that he "didn't really know what the hell that was about". Alkin took to his twitter page this morning to explain the comments:
To clarify what I meant, #PORAUT Ronaldo was NOT arrogant in missing pen, silly to say that - it was KARMA for what he said about Iceland
— stephen alkin (@StephenAlkin) June 19, 2016
Mystery solved.
We much prefer those occasional slips in the midst of mad enthusiasm than the high, rehearsed rhetoric of others.
