During a time when much of the news is dark and dreary one takes comfort from the occasional event that offers a least a glimpse of better days ahead. ESPN just announced that they have signed both Troy Aikman and Joe Buck to long term contracts to broadcast Monday Night Football. Rejoice, I say rejoice! Now there is only one day of the week where one has to turn off the volume in order to watch a major sporting event. For years we have endured watching Joe Buck’s smirking face during broadcasts of the World Series, NFL football games and major league tiddlywinks. Perhaps it is just me, but I don’t know a single person who can stand listening to Joe Buck. A lot, probably too much, of the buck has landed on Troy Aikman. As far as I can tell Joe Buck got the job because his daddy was a good announcer, and someone made the false assumption that he would be good too. Then he kept getting plush assignments because he previously got plush assignments.
He reminds me of the judges on shows like American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and The Voice. The announcers think the show is all about them and occasionally we get to see an actual performance. Even then it is often ruined by self-serving, arrogant, and patronizing commentary that only distracts from the performance itself. I must admit that I haven’t watched any of these shows in years because of this, while years ago we watched shows like American Idol all the time.
Joe Buck has elevated this to an art form. It is made worse by the producers who seem to think we must endure hours of puff broadcasting about individual athletes they want to promote. Often the athlete featured in the pre-game nonsense fails to perform very well during the actual event. The only thing that makes these broadcasts even watchable is that the game itself is shown, during brief interludes between commercials.
I don’t know what genius made this decision at ESPN, but I suspect they also worked overtime to give us President Joe Biden. Look how well that worked out!
In any event, this is a case where addition is gained from subtraction. I do not know who will replace Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, but it will take skill and effort to find someone worse. Just being able to turn on a major sporting event and not seeing Joe Buck is more than enough to brighten one’s day. Enjoy!
Free at last.
TDM