• English Site
• > Under the Scope
• > Football

Spiegel's World Cup Blog

Drew Carey -- Football Photographer

You never know who you're going to run into at a World Cup match. Among the journlists covering the USA-Italy scrum was American comedian Drew Carey. Has he found a new career?

Among the rows and rows of sweaty and tired-looking American, Italian and German sports hacks yesterday at the Kaiserslautern media cener, one man stood out. His black-rimmed glasses, thick lenses and stocky build were instantly recognizable to comedy fans in the US.

“You’re Drew Carey,” I said, walking up to him.

The press pass hanging from his neck confirmed my guess. But what was Carey, the star of a hit sitcom in the US and one of the country’s most successful comedians, doing with this lot?

“I found out that, for some reason, I’m really good at taking sports photos,” he said.

Sure enough, a massive telephoto lens stood next to his table along with a heavy rolling bag carrying a laptop and other photo equipment. A fan of soccer since he went to a Major League Soccer match in Los Angeles three years ago, Carey said he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to shoot a World Cup. In addition to shooting at least a dozen games for International Sports Images, Carey is also being followed around by documentary film team for a Travel Channel show called "Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures."

Good-natured and as easygoing as he appears on stage, the comedian is apparently well-known to the small pack of American soccer journalists. He makes regular appearances at matches in America, and “he takes his job real seriously,” says Jeff Carlisle, who is analyzing the US Soccer team’s performance for America’s ESPN.com.

In all, Carey, a Cleveland native, is spending a month in Germany -- taking in as many games as possible. As for the sport’s chances in his homeland, Carey belongs to the camp of soccer optimists.

“Being a soccer fan, there’s fewer of us, so it’s the cool thing to be,” he said. “You know, it’s international. It’s like knowing about the cool band before everyone else does.”

As for knowing how to spot Carey’s pictures in newspapers and magazines -- fans will have a tougher time. He shoots under a different name.

-- Andreas Tzortzis, 10:00 a.m. CET

CLICK HERE FOR SATURDAY'S BLOG