A great announcer can elevate a sporting event much like a great player. A timeless call transports a fan back to the exhilaration or heartbreak of a significant moment in sports history. One can only wonder if the Shot Heard ‘Round the World would still achieve its legendary status if not for Russ Hodges’s iconic call.
However, in between the occasional great sports calls, there are hours of commentary that feel like they’re made just to fill the silence. Sometimes, in this interim, an announcer produces a less-than-savory or even sexually explicit nationally televised soundbite. Here are a few of the most out-of-pocket, horny or sexually charged calls in recent sports history.
During the 2013 college football season, ESPN’s announcer Brent Musberger received criticism for his broadcasted compliments of Katherine Webb, a former Miss Alabama USA pageant winner who dated Alabama quarterback A. J. McCarron.
A camera at the 2013 BCS National Championship Game lingered on Webb just long enough for Musberger to go on an uncomfortable digression about her looks.
“You see that lovely lady there,” Rusberger said, referring to Webb. “That’s A. J. McCarron’s girlfriend. You quarterbacks, you get all the good lookin’ women. What a beautiful woman. Wow! So if you’re a youngster in Alabama, start getting the football out and throw it around the backyard with pop.”
After the game, ESPN’s vice president of communications Mike Soltys apologized for Mussberger’s comments saying he “went too far.”
In just one year of college football commentary, RG3 already delivered several great sexual innuendos on broadcast television.
Notably, he managed to fit two innuendos in a Michigan State versus Washington game. Late in the second quarter, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Lynn Polk, prompting RG3 to give him the nickname “Big Penix Energy.” Later, after Michigan State’s center Nick Samac incurred a penalty for an illegal snap, Griffin referred to the mishap as a “premature snapulation.”
Griffin’s best soundbite to date occurred during a Michigan vs. Colorado State game after Michigan backup quarterback Alex Orji ran in for a touchdown. RG3 took advantage of the moment to slip in a pun that was probably on most people’s minds when they heard Orji’s name. Also, bonus points for the dual meaning of “end zone” in this call.
Every good color commentator has their signature thing that distinguishes them from the rest. Cris Collinsworth has “Now, here’s a guy” and Tony Romo has “Ehh, I don’t know Jim” and his Nostradamus routine. For Mark Sanchez, it’s not-so-subtle allusions to teenagers’ internet porn habits.
During a game between the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons, Sanchez praised Rams center Coleman Shelton’s blocking using a very imaginative simile. The funniest part of this call is how he follows a flagrant reference to internet porn with a “Holy smokes!” like he’s a schoolchild from the 1950s.
It’s pretty common for sports announcers to make accidental sexual innuendos when using the word “come” in a sentence. The word “come” is versatile and can refer to a wide variety of commonly utilized sports verbs including “rush,” “run” and “blitz.” In the minds of more imaginative viewers, it can also refer to orgasming and certain sexual emissions.
There were so many instances of accidental sexual innuendos because of the word “come” that it was difficult to pick just one for this article. In the end, I had to go with Troy Aikman’s call during a Washington vs Dallas game in the 2016 season.
This one has a couple of things going for it.
First, it includes the additional action of “pulling out,” which prompts the question of whether or not Troy Aikman knew exactly what he was doing with this call.
Second, it was a Thanksgiving game, which means that it was nationally syndicated to families sitting down for a little wholesome entertainment while digesting their food — hopefully prompting uncomfortable but necessary familial conversations about the importance of sexual hygiene.
Here, Aikman highlighted a common misconception that frequently leads to accidental pregnancy. To prevent unwanted pregnancy, Planned Parenthood recommends withdrawal before ejaculation rather than after or during. However, the withdrawal method is not wholly recommended as it is only effective 78% of the time.
BONUS: Pitt’s Au’Diese Toney saying “They just busted in our mouth.”
Finally, this one isn’t an announcer moment, but I had to include it because it came from Pitt basketball player Au’Diese Toney.
Following a win over Virginia Tech in the 2020-21 season, Toney explained why the team struggled earlier in the season using very sexually evocative terms.
“Teams that we got too comfortable and relaxed with, they just busted in our mouth,” Toney said, without a hint of irony. Toney doubled down on the choice words by saying, “We just had to eat that up and take it on our chin and bounce back from that.”
Less than a month later, Toney transferred to the University of Arkansas, where he played his senior season. With this interview, Toney finished off his three-year Pitt career with a bang.
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