Jack Edwards, the longtime Bruins play-by-play voice and ESPN broadcaster, looked back on calling the 2002 World Cup while offering a health update after a 2024 diagnosis of apraxia. He says everything works except his mouth, and that a recent MRI showed it ha
Jack Edwards has been chasing soccer long before he ever chased airtime.
As a kid, he played on the soccer field and received multiple recruiting offers from colleges. He chose the University of New Hampshire. telling Boston.com in a recent interview that the decision came down to a promise: “The coach told me I would play my freshman year. and that’s how I made my decision on schools. ” Edwards joked.
Between his sophomore and junior seasons, he tried to sharpen himself the way athletes do when they believe the next step is physical. He spent a summer job at The Red Lion in Vail, training at high altitude.
“I had a summer job at The Red Lion in Vail,” he recalled. “I thought training at 8,000 feet would be good for me. I washed dishes by night and played soccer by day.”
Then, in a summertime match—after scoring a hat-trick—the season-long dream collided with something brutal and sudden. Edwards described how he scored three goals, “hit one post,” and then got sent in for a fourth. The goalie tackled over the ball, studs up, and broke his leg.
“I was in a series of casts for seven months,” he said, adding that sports medicine has “thankfully…come a long way from 1977.”
It was during that long recovery that broadcasting found him. Edwards joined the student radio station. eventually calling UNH men’s hockey games. and he pointed to one specific moment as a launching pad. “The Wildcats won their first ECAC title my senior year,” Edwards explained. “That was a launching pad for me.”.
His path widened quickly. Working in regional New England roles through the 1980s, he added major-event assignments, including spots at the U.S. Open and the 1988 Winter Olympics. In 1991, he joined ESPN full-time.
At ESPN, his soccer ambitions didn’t fade—they just changed shape. Even after his own soccer-related goals shifted, he kept pushing toward the biggest stage. The World Cup—at the time, with television rights held by ABC—became the target.
“I campaigned from the first day I was hired at ESPN,” Edwards noted.
After showcasing his ability on MLS Soccer Saturdays starting in 1999, he was selected for what he described as the only commentary crew sent by ESPN to the 2002 World Cup, hosted in Japan and South Korea.
Edwards still remembers what the pace felt like. “I called 23 games in 30 days,” he said.
The 2002 World Cup is remembered in American soccer as a modern-era high point. The U.S. men reached the quarterfinals before bowing out to eventual finalists Germany. It began with one of the sport’s great shocks.
In the opener, former Revolution head coach Bruce Arena—then the U.S. coach—guided the Americans to a 3-2 upset over Portugal. Edwards noted that Portugal included 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year Luis Figo.
For Edwards, it wasn’t just the result that stuck. “The U.S. vs. Portugal game was the most underdog upset I have done in all my years of calling play-by-play,” he said. “Portugal was favored to win the group, and there were some people who favored them to reach this semifinals of the World Cup.”
He also recalled the moment another broadcaster tried to make sense of it. “An English fellow who was calling the World Cup next to me said, ‘Is this the soccer equivalent of the Miracle on Ice?’ I said not quite, but it’s in its class.”
Because the games were played in South Korea, the time difference reached into American mornings. The 13-hour difference meant some matches kicked off at 5 a.m. local time in New England.
Edwards said he still cherishes the people who stayed up for those early starts. “I cherish the people who listened in the middle of the night,” he said, referencing the earlier kickoff times. “Occasionally they’ll come up to me and tell me about that cup of coffee spilled when the goals went in.”
His style—descriptive, confident, built to move—was on full display in 2002. When Brian McBride scored the third U.S. goal against Portugal, Edwards declared: “I guarantee you this is stopping traffic all over Europe.”
But Edwards’ memories of that tournament now sit beside a different kind of struggle—one that has changed the way he talks.
As he looks toward the 2026 World Cup. Edwards shares concerns that have been swirling around the sport’s big moments. especially how they’re organized and who they include. He said he thinks FIFA is squeezing revenue from fans. “I think FIFA is guilty of squeezing every nickel out of the payers’ pockets,” he said.
He also pointed to the cost of access, and to fears tied to immigration. “I am disappointed that the tickets are so highly-priced, not to mention the specter of ICE and the intimidation of immigrants and visitors to this country.”
Alongside the bigger tournament, Edwards directed criticism at U.S. soccer’s youth system. He highlighted pay-for-play elements he says limit participation and block development of American talent.
“I’m disappointed in the adults who are making themselves rich on youth soccer in this country.”
Even with all the worry, he still offered a simple definition of success for the U.S. run. “If we win any game in single elimination, it’s all good,” he concluded.
That’s the tension running through his conversation: the scale of what soccer means to people, and the limits his own body now places on him.
Edwards, who stepped down from his Bruins play-by-play role in 2024 after being diagnosed with apraxia—described in the report as a disorder that hinders the pace of his speech—also gave an update on his health.
“Everything works except my mouth,” he explained.
After a recent MRI, he said his doctor reached a clear conclusion. “He says it hasn’t affected my cognitive ability. I’m thankful for that.”
Then comes the part he doesn’t sugarcoat. “It’s frustrating to not speak clearly and quickly, but it could be much, much worse.”
In other words, he’s still there—still thinking, still watching, still measuring the sport he loves. But now the world of play-by-play has to accommodate a new reality: his voice may be slowed, yet his memory and his opinions still move fast.
Jack Edwards apraxia Bruins World Cup 2002 ESPN Bruce Arena Portugal Luis Figo Brian McBride ICE youth soccer