Postgame coverage on Fox, ESPN falls flat
Everything about the Super Bowl broadcast went swimmingly until the game ended.
Then the geriatrics took over and predictable gaffes – from a pair of unsurprising suspects – raised eyebrows and created an air of awkwardness during what should have been a celebration of both the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on a well-played game that ended with the Chiefs hoisting their second Lombardi Trophy in four years.
First, on Fox, Terry Bradshaw fumbled once again during one of the most poignant points of a NFL season – the Super Bowl trophy presentation – while making a fat joke at the expense of Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
“Big guy … let me get the big guy in here,” Bradshaw said. “Come on, waddle over here.”
Around the same time, on ESPN, Chris Berman tried to connect the fact that the first Super Bowl with two Black starting quarterbacks in the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes had something to do with Abraham Lincoln.
“Two African American quarterbacks starting against each other in the Super Bowl for the first time,” Berman said. “Fittingly, February 12th is Abe Lincoln’s birthday. Here we go with the highlights in case you missed it.”
Bradshaw’s blunders continue
Fox broadcasters Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen rose to the occasion and nailed their first Super Bowl. But Bradshaw, the network’s trophy presenter, couldn’t help himself.
Calling Reid “the big guy” wasn’t the source of the outrage. Reid is a larger fellow. But his next comment – “come on, waddle over here” – was unnecessary. Critics called it fat shaming.
Bradshaw finished the interview with Reid by saying “have a cheeseburger on us,” which others took umbrage over, but Reid famously craves burgers after a big win and it wasn’t a malicious moment.
While everyone on that stage was in a jolly mood, and Bradshaw was playing into the levity, there has to be a higher standard.
Bradshaw has a history of upstaging the postgame ceremonies. Two weeks ago, he ruined another trophy presentation in Philadelphia after the Eagles won the NFC title by ruining “Fly Eagles Fly!”
Fox has let Bradshaw hold onto his role as presenter for too long. With professionals such as Tom Rinaldi, Erin Andrews and Burkhardt, somebody else should be in charge of that iconic moment. Bradshaw has bumbled on long enough.
Berman misses mark with historical note
Berman’s intentions, at least, appeared to be good-natured. He simply missed the mark, which happens in the business of live television.
Berman built an entire brand on quick-witted, quirky references, but trying to draw a line from Honest Abe to a historic night 160 years after the 16th president’s death was never going to work – and it came across as out of touch.
Lincoln was indeed born on Feb. 12, 1809. Connecting that two Black men because of Lincoln’s role in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and promotion of the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery, came across as crass.
To go from that statement to the “fastest three minutes” highlights was quite the whiplash. It also served as a reminder why ESPN unceremoniously demoted him from hosting “NFL Countdown” years ago.
The bizarreness of both Berman and Bradshaw were two examples of the postgame coverage failing to meet Super Bowl standards.