A bizarre mix-up in the broadcast booth led to fans mocking CBS Sports veteran Jim Nantz when he didn’t hear what his on-air partner JJ Watt had to say.
Nantz and Watt were in Foxborough on Sunday to call the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots.
The two commentators took a moment to discuss the first win of the season for the Steelers and their new head coach, Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, re-united with his former Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, on the Steelers.
Nantz addressed this: ‘Of course the big story was Mike McCarthy getting a chance to return to the Steel City, move back basically to the same neighborhood where he was raised.
‘He’s about a mile from the home he was raised in, his sisters live close by, his mom and dad are also just a minute drive away. It’s just storybook for Mike.’
Fans noticed an awkward moment between CBS’ Jim Nantz (R) and JJ Watt (L)
Watt told a story about Steelers coach Mike McCarthy (L) receiving a game ball from Aaron Rodgers (R) after his first win in charge, which Nantz then repeated only seconds later
Nantz’s former partner, Tony Romo (R) is suspended after an OWI incident in Wisconsin in July
Watt decided to add further context by bringing up a conversation the two had with McCarthy before the Patriots game.
‘It was truly incredible to listen to him talk about how he drives past his childhood home every day, and these are the streets every single day as a kid he grew up on,’ Watt said.
‘He talked to us about how emotional he got after that first win, getting the game ball from Aaron Rodgers, and just how special it was.’
However, for some reason, Nantz did not hear what Watt said and then repeated the same story: ‘He got the game ball too, in the locker room from Aaron Rodgers after. It was quite a moment captured,’ he said.
Social media noticed, with one user posting, ‘I’m not sure Jim Nantz was paying attention when JJ Watt was talking here.’
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand posted, ‘This was an extreme example, but Watt had a few pretty good lines that Nantz didn’t seem to hear.’
Watt has stepped into the booth to temporarily replace Tony Romo after his arrest for OWI in Wisconsin. The former Cowboys quarterback was arrested in late July and pled no contest earlier this month.
After the arrest, CBS placed Romo on leave ‘until further notice’ while the quarterback published an apology and admitted to having an ‘over-reliance on alcohol.’
