When Fox Sports 1 replaced SPEED two weeks ago, it received a touching goodbye from longtime race coverage personality Mike Joy. Fox Soccer Channel was not provided a similar honor.


Despite almost 16 years of existence since its founding in 1997 as Fox Soccer Sports World, the channel's transition to sitcom rerun repository FXX was not celebrated and, in fact, was barely recognized; Fox Soccer's final program, Being Liverpool, was cut off for an infomercial disclaimer that noted subtly the channel's new name. An hour later, the "Happy Days Are Here Again" Fox Sports 1 trailer aired, interrupted by a clip of Lionel Messi that was then cut off by a scene from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's 2009 holiday episode in which a naked Danny DeVito is birthed from a sofa. FXX's first proper broadcast, a rerun of Parks & Recreation, followed.


RIP, Fox Soccer Channel. We will miss you, though not as much as we miss SPEED.