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Those who opted for Ball State vs. Eastern Michigan on CBS Sports Network got to see the Eagles wear special Election Day helmets, just to remind of what else was going on in the world. On ESPN, Western Michigan — No. 21 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and the Group of Five’s best chance for a New Year’s Six bowl game — played Kent State.
While the Broncos and coach P.J Fleck may have been good enough reason to escape from current events for three hours, ESPN made the broadcast even more curious by putting Teddy Atlas in the booth with play-by-play man Chris Cotter and analyst Desmond Howard.
Yes, that Teddy Atlas, the boxing trainer who ESPN also employs as a fight analyst. He was on a college football broadcast Tuesday night, his first time calling anything besides boxing. Either someone at ESPN thought it was a good idea worth taking a chance on (Atlas had something of an audition during January’s national championship game) or figured it was worth a goof for a game few would likely watch.
What will be worse..Hillary concession speech or Teddy Atlas doing color analyst for Western Michigan/Kent St. tonight?
— Scott Wetzel (@OppositePicks) November 9, 2016
But someone’s always watching. And that means people are tweeting about it too. Some may have been interested in the football, especially when the Golden Flashes broke out to a 14-3 lead.
3-6 #KentState leading 9-0 WMU 14-3 in the 2nd quarter… Even better reason to watch: Teddy Atlas IS DOIN THIS GAME (but no JoeTess)?!
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 9, 2016
Eventually, however, the attention turned to the curious inclusion of Atlas in the broadcast booth and the job he was doing on the telecast.
Dear ESPN,
Teddy Atlas doing Tuesday night #MACtion is an effing disaster. Please cut his mike during the next timeout.
Signed,
America— Ian McDonald (@imac44) November 9, 2016
As the old saying goes, write what you know. In Atlas’ case, that applied to talking. Was there really anyone who expected that he wouldn’t apply boxing analogies to football?
#teddyatlas is talking about boxing nonstop during the #WesternMichigan football game #MACtion #worstannouncer @espn
— Jason B (@J_Beste) November 9, 2016
Well, maybe Desmond Howard…
"That's what happens when you hit a guy in the solar plexus." – Teddy Atlas after a Jarvion Franklin TD run gives WMU a 30-21 lead
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) November 9, 2016
Did Atlas ask Harold Lederman how he scored the game after each quarter? (OK, I know Lederman works for HBO’s boxing coverage, not ESPN’s…)
Maybe there were some people who enjoyed Atlas on the broadcast, eager for something different? (That seems to be a theme in our country, following the presidential election.)
I gotta say @ESPNCFB having #TeddyAtlas on the broadcast tonight #Genius
— Jim B. (@ca_bamafan) November 9, 2016
Yet for the most part, fans didn’t seem to care for Atlas mixing boxing with their football. This was not ESPN getting its chocolate in your peanut butter to create something delicious like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. This was an unnecessary experiment.
Not everyone likes change, especially in the diversions they choose for escape. People like what they like when it comes to football, unless it’s a feature that adds to the experience, rather than stands out somehow.
ESPN, we've had a good sports relationship my whole life, but this Teddy Atlas debacle is unforgivable
— Justin Coffin (@NIFFOCNITSUJ) November 9, 2016
All right, some people may never forget this. But considering how few people likely watched, along with current events and our daily lives moving on, Teddy Atlas calling college football on ESPN probably won’t linger. That is, unless ESPN decides to do this again.
Now that Atlas is a MAC football expert, perhaps he can be part of the broadcast crew for the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, with a MAC team entering the ring against a school from the Sun Belt conference. That’s scheduled for Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The network also has the Miami Beach Bowl on Dec. 19 at 2:30 p.m. as a MAC school trades punches in a matchup with an American Athletic Conference team.
We’ll keep an eye out for that. Or maybe just leave it to Twitter to tell us how it went.
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