He delivered a six-minute monologue on his US talk show
James Corden made a passionate plea to his American audience on Monday night regarding the recent announcement that 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs will be forming a new Super League.
On his talk show The Late Late Show, Corden said that he was “heartbroken” by the proposals. He went on to say that the owners of the clubs involved have “displayed the worst type of greed I’ve ever seen in sport.”
He explained to the audience the history behind football teams in England, and how billionaire owners have “slowly but surely moved these teams away from the communities and foundations on which they were built.”
For an American audience, who have grown up with franchises across the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball, it may be something that is difficult for them to grasp. But Corden does a decent job of explaining why this matters, to an audience in the studio and watching at home who, has he admits, probably don’t care that much.
We talked about the #SuperLeague on the show tonight. pic.twitter.com/6n40FlkNsA
— James Corden (@JKCorden) April 20, 2021
The reaction is largely positive as well. Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani commented under the post, saying “??? well done James”, whilst the monologue seemed to have hit home for another who wrote “As @JKCordexplainedned the open structure, it made me care more. That is amazing and would be a shame to lose.”
As @JKCorden explained the open structure, it made me care even more. That is amazing and would be a shame to lose. I do not like our rich man's poker game setup.
— Pinky (@Pinky451) April 20, 2021
A third user commented: “Just imaging NFL with guaranteed playoff spots to the same 6 teams every year. Or the NHL with the original six Toronto , Montreal, Rangers, Detroit, Chicago & Detroit guaranteed a playoff spot every year! No one would put up with that!”
And many others in the comments were making comparisons with what the equivalent would be in US sport, comparisons that seemed to make other realise how bad this would be.
https://twitter.com/GameOf_Jones/status/1384340655023869958
Now, whatever you think of Corden and his antics, it does seem like he really cares about this. He is, after all, a long-time West Ham fan, and still feels a real connection and love for the UK. He didn’t have to spend a significant part of his show talking about this, no one would have batted an eyelid if he hadn’t mentioned the Super League.
Anything that can try and make an American audience realise how poisonous this Super League is should be praised. Because if there are signs that Americans won’t be enthusiastic about this, and that the new competition will potentially fall flat in arguably the biggest consumer market of them all, then you can guarantee that these proposals will quickly crumble.
