That's it, I'm officially fed up with NFL announcers. These guys are so in love with the sound of their own voices, they hardly pay attention to what's happening on the field. Case in point: this weekend's (devastating) Tampa Bay loss against the Redskins. At one point in the second quarter, flags went flying after a play, and the refs called unsportsmanlike conduct on the Skins. The replays showed that TB's Michael Pittman got into an argument with Washington's Sean Taylor, and after a few seconds took a swing at Taylor. The announcers in the booth went nuts, saying that this is the worst officiating call they have ever seen, that Pittman is the one who should be penalized, that Taylor didn't do anything, that they hope this doesn't affect the outcome of the game, that they've never been more horrified in the history of the world EVER...
Um, excuse me? Did they not see the official standing right next to the players when it happened? Cause I'm sure he would call the penalty on the wrong person when he's watching the whole thing happen. Why don't these officials open their eyes instead of their mouths?
I told my roommate that Taylor must've said something really awful to instigate Pittman and cause the penalty. But the announcers just kept going for the next few minutes, even as Taylor was being escorted from the field. They then said how unfair it was for Taylor to be punished for this penalty, since it wasn't his fault. On and on and on...
Until they "received word from downstairs" that Taylor had spit in Pittman's face. Which, had they been listening, the official said when he announced the penalty in the first place. Then it was okay… and the announcers changed their tune to the point where they said that they'd slap someone who spit in their face too.
These guys have been getting worse and worse at not paying attention to the on-field action. I think from now on I'll watch the game on mute (and maybe pop in some GnR to get me pumped… yeah, that sounds good)