ESPN didn’t get the benefit of a great Monday Night Football matchup in Week 16. Instead, it got the very good Green Bay Packers against the very bad (but also very injured) New Orleans Saints.
Thus, calling a game with a two-touchdown favorite, ESPN commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have the added job of trying to make the contest entertaining.
They started with a quick joke, too, as Aikman didn’t seem super interested in jumping in after Buck’s introduction to the game. Buck noticed that and humorously pointed it out.
But a funnier moment happened after the Packers quickly went down the field on the first drive and scored a touchdown. Quarterback Jordan Love hit a wide open Dontayvion Wicks in the end zone, while a Saints’ defender lay on the ground nearby.
That defender, cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, then started yelling for a flag for pass interference on Wicks. The problem is that Wicks didn’t interfere with him. Not even close, really. But he wanted the refs to THINK that a foul had been committed.
Troy Aikman joked that McKinstry’s behavior emulated an NBA player more than an NFL player.
“I haven’t seen a flop quite like that in the NFL,” Aikman started.
“No, not in this sport,” Buck retorted.
“Christmas is coming up, the NBA is going to be all over the tube,” Aikman quipped. “They’ve got that move mastered.”
Nothing like football guys taking swipes at basketball guys, amirite???
Look, Aikman isn’t wrong. Part of the reason no one wants to watch the NBA right now is because of the incessant flopping and constant bickering with referees.
Certainly, the NBA has more problems than just that. But the flopping doesn’t help.
So, let’s not bring that to the NFL, OK guys? Thanks.
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