13th May, 2011
RT Sportscast is a company that covers live football matches around the world on the internet. When I interviewed him in May, 2011, Boyd Vincent was the local area rep. I asked him a few questions about his role and his thoughts on the Thai game. Here are the results of our chat.
Q - Please can you tell me a bit about yourself.
A - I’m 39 years old, American, and grew up in the Chicago suburbs. I have two older sisters, six nieces and nephews, and now live in a townhouse in Ramkhamhaeng, Bangkok.
Q- What first brought you to Asia?
A - One of my sisters taught English in Nagoya, Japan in 1989 for one year. She always told me what a wonderful experience it was, and said how much I would love to do something like that. A few years back, I decided “it’s now or never” – so I quit my IT job in Chicago (I was a Network Administrator in the US), and moved to Tokyo.
Q - How long did you live in Japan?
A - I was in Japan for about three years, although a few months out of each year I went back home to visit friends and family in Chicago and Houston.
Q - What did you do there?
A - I taught English, and did some freelance computer work as well.
Q- Where else have you lived?
A - Houston, Texas, New Haven Connecticut, and Ithaca, New York
Q - How did you end up in Thailand?
A - I have a good friend that lives here (he’s also from Chicago) and after being in Japan for a few years, decided to change things up a bit and try living in a new country/culture – I didn’t particularly WANT to leave Japan, but I figured three years was long enough. I was torn between Taipei, Taiwan and Bangkok, and obviously chose the latter!
Q - How long have you followed football?
A - I played soccer all my life in the US – it’s actually the most popular sport among adolescents (in terms of kids who play sports) – so, I guess you could say I’ve followed most of my life. In 1994 I made a trip to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas to catch a World Cup match – a great experience – I saw Sweden beat Saudi Arabia.
Q- How does the standard in Thailand compare to the standard in Japan and other countries where you have watched the game?
A - When I first saw a TPL (Thai Premier League) match, I wasn’t so impressed – but the more I watch, the better I think the play is – especially when I see teams like Chonburi FC and Muangthong United play AFC Cup matches and perform so well against teams from other countries.
Q - How does the matchday experience in Thailand compare to Japan?
A - Everything is more expensive in Japan, and way more crowded – I didn’t spend too much time at stadiums there watching anything, mainly because I didn’t feel like being sandwiched between people at a soccer (or baseball) game the same way I was while riding trains to and from work every day! Japanese fans go nuts about everything – I think it’s a way that they can let loose, since they are always under pressure to perform at work and never get to express their opinions about anything.
Q - What has been your best experience of watching football in Thailand?
A - The people I’ve met – both foreigners and Thai.
Q - Please can you tell us about your job and your role?
A - I work for a company that broadcasts real-time sports data on the web – my role is to find individuals in Thailand to cover TPL matches – as of now, I have about 16 of the 18 TPL teams with match reporters attending games (I also go to a fair number of matches) – but I still need a few more, particularly in Chiang Rai and Sisaket.
Q - How did you get your current job?
A - I saw an ad on ajarn.com last year, and just applied to be a match reporter – I did it most of last year, then the guy who hired me decided to leave the head position in Thailand and recommended to the powers that be at the company that I take over. Because I have lived in Japan, they also asked me to cover J1 matches, so I keep pretty busy making sure there are reporters in both countries going to games.
Q - Who subscribes to your updates?
A - I don’t have any! But that’s a good idea – maybe I’ll post a blog.
Q - Please can you give us a brief outline of your usual matchday routine.
A - Wake up - drink coffee, chew nicotine gum, I quit smoking recently. Check to make sure the game is still on and that I'm going to the right stadium. I HAVE gone to the wrong one before! Get on a bus (easy to get to anywhere from Ramkhamhaeng by bus) - usually I will head to Victory Monument and then take another bus or minivan to whatever stadium I happen to be headed to. Get a call from my company an hour before the match confirming the teams I will be covering. Arrive at the match, buy a ticket. Get a seat in the stadium, get a call (again, from company) to describe pitch and weather conditions. Watch match/do commentary (company calls for a third time about 10 minutes before start of the match, and all commentary is done via phone). Head home. That's about it!
Q - Are you able to enjoy the matches, or are you focussed on reporting?
A - The first few matches I did, I was a bit nervous and concentrated more on what I was going to say than actually enjoying the match – now it’s a lot different because I’m much more familiar with the routine, and I am able to really get the most out of the games when I am working – it’s a pretty simple job, actually.
Q - Do you get the chance to go to games when you are "off duty"?
A - I haven’t yet, but that’s been more of my own choice than anything – I figure if I’m going to go to a match, I might as well earn some cash in the process – otherwise, I’d rather stay home and play with the dog or practice my guitar.
Q - What has been your funniest/strangest experience whilst covering Thai football?
A - I like interacting with the crowd – I don’t know if there’s been one most interesting experience, but I can absolutely say that my Thai has improved a lot (especially slang) after listening to what fans scream at players on the opposing team.
Q - Anything else you'd like to add?
A - I’m just grateful I have the chance to make a living doing something like this – life could be a lot worse than getting paid to watch football! If anyone reading this is interested in covering matches (especially those of you outside of Bangkok), feel free to contact me at boyd.vincent(at)rtsportscast.com. Thanks a lot for granting me the interview!
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