Being an announcer has to be a hard job.
Sure, we can all yell out during long touchdown passes or after huge third down sacks, but trying to fill in the space between plays, getting all of the names right, not cursing, and making it enjoyable for a large audience to watch for 3 plus hours is not in the slightest the easiest job on the planet.
But sometimes announcers will say something that just makes you scratch your head and wonder where they got that from.
Just the other day San Francisco Giants play by play guy Duane Kuiper got caught saying he had to pee and who can forget SEC Network announcer Tom Hart completely messing up the phrase “Turn the clock back”?
Those two examples are honest mistakes though; jumbling up words happens to each of us every day and there’s not always a mic around to pick up the announcement of a bathroom break, but there’s one insane moment that was not a mistake that lives rent free in my mind.
Back in 2007, number 16 Alabama was hosting number 22 Georgia in an absolute classic match up. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter and a 20-10 lead early in the fourth, but the Tide roared back as they tend to do and sent the game into overtime.
Two juggernaut programs, primetime SEC game, absolutely raucous crowd, I mean this has all the making of must watch TV that will make you forget the rest of the world exists.
Or so you would think…
Alabama got the ball to open overtime and wound up kicking a field goal to take a 3 point lead. The tension built to an absolute fever pitch as Georgia prepared to take the field and try to answer when ESPN’s Mike Patrick hit his partner Todd Blackledge with one of the most stunning questions of all time.
Here’s the play by play…
“(Mike) – I have an important question for you?
(Todd) – Go ahead
(M) – What is Brittney doing with her life?
(T) – [Confused silence]… Who?
(M) – Brittany!
(T) – [More confusion] Britney who?
(M) – Spears! What is she doing with her career?
(T) – [Absolute befuddlement] Why do we care at this point? Is she here?
(M) – I don’t think so.
(T) – Is she a football fan?
(M) – Oh, I’m sure she is…”
I cannot stop laughing and have watched this encounter at least 10 times already…
The biggest moment of the game, Georgia trying to upset their conference rival in overtime and you decide to bring up the spiraling career of a teen superstar? Come on, dude.
He did succeed in creating a moment that will forever live in the history books, but probably not the type of call he was hoping to be remembered by. On the very next play, a quarterback by the name of Matthew Stafford threw a 25 yard touchdown pass to Mikey Henderson to secure the Georgia win.
My goodness, what a moment in more ways than one.
I still can’t figure it out though. What the heck was he thinking? How did that pop into his head in that moment?
Just another reason why you have to love sports.
