Fox' top NFL broadcast team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman "were on top of their games" during yesterday's Bills-Chiefs matchup, according to Alan Pergament of the BUFFALO NEWS. Buck was "very sharp ... considering his schedule," which included his usual NFL responsibility as well as calling the Dodgers-Braves NLCS. While he "didn’t appear to have much time to ... do homework on the Bills, a team he rarely has seen in his career," there was only one notable flub when he combined two Bills names into one. Buck was "even sharper than the game officials, saying they botched a false start penalty call against the Bills in the final two minutes and allowed the play to continue so the Chiefs could commit an offsetting penalty." Aikman also was sharp, and he was "at his best explaining the Chiefs’ coverage in the secondary" (BUFFALO NEWS, 10/20).
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER GAME: YAHOO SPORTS’ Cassandra Negley noted Buck is in the middle of a stretch where he is “on the call for seven consecutive days of either MLB or NFL games.” The stretch “could go to eight days depending on the length of the World Series.” While this has “become standard for the play-by-play announcer to call so many games in October given his duties with each league,” this year’s slate was “further complicated” by Bills-Chiefs being rescheduled due to COVID-19. Negley: “Dislike the guy if you will, but the grind he puts himself through every October is impressive” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/19).
TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL: USA TODAY's Andrew Joseph notes Buck and Aikman "couldn't help but mock" the Buccaneers for having a military flyover with four A-10 aircraft ahead of Sunday's game against the Packers at a "mostly empty Raymond James Stadium." Buck was caught on a hot mic mockingly saying, "That's your hard-earned money and your tax dollars at work!" (USA TODAY, 10/20). Aikman replied by "perhaps sarcastically" saying, “That stuff ain’t happening with a Kamala-Biden ticket, I’ll tell you that right now, partner.” In Ft. Worth, Stefan Stevenson notes the U.S. military has "long paid sports leagues for flyovers and in-game tributes to servicemen and women, which have often appeared to unknowing fans to be authentic, homegrown tributes by their home team." The use of flyovers and the "integration of military public relation stunts have been a persistent issue for critics, especially in the NFL" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/20).
