Although the Houston Dynamo will not be represented on the field in London, the Dynamo organizatino will be represented in the broadcast booth. For the second consecutive Summer Olympics, Dynamo broadcaster Glenn Davis will call men's and womens' soccer games for NBC. We caught up with Davis before he left for New York to call the games.
On being asked to call Olympic soccer
"This is the second Olympics I have called having called the Beijing games in 2008. I consider it a real privilege to do this for NBC with their amazing Olympic history. You are a part of a large team here in New York at 30 Rock."
On how the Olympics compare to other games he has called
"I have been fortunate to call World Cups, MLS Conference Championships, NCAA Championships and of course many historic Dynamo games. I have called memorable games outside of the country in places such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Germany but the Olympics are certainly exciting as to what they represent to athletes in all sports not just soccer."
On the broadcast set-up for the Olympics
"There is no secret that most of the soccer is being called, like many other Olympics sports, at NBC studios in Rockefeller Center in New York City. The set-up of booths is amazing and it is pretty interesting because it is all on the set of Saturday Night Live."
On the broadcast team
"I am working with former U.S. women's players Cat Whitehill, Kate Markgraf on the womens side and Shep Messing, Marcelo Balboa and Cobi Jones on the men's side. Because we are calling the games off a monitor, the dynamic between you and your partner is essential."
On the teams to watch
"There are a lot of great stories with Brazilian men having never won the gold and showing a real desire to get that done in Great Britain. Spain will also be considered a favorite and I believe Mexico, if they remain composed, have a wonderful opportunity to medal."
"On the women's side, I wonder if Japan iwll be able to live up to the expecations set for them after winning the 2011 World Cup? The U.S. women have all the weapons to win this with a few questions around their back four and midfield balance but with young exciting talent like Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux to go with Abby Wambach and company."
"Short tournaments bring the unknown and lots of surprises!"
