There have been a lot of unusual referee announcements over the years, from Ron Cherry’s “Giving him the business” through Alex Kemp’s “I’m talking to America here.” Cricket Celebration Bowl referee Rory Bernard added to that canon Saturday by starting his first penalty announcement with “I’d like to salute our military veterans,” and pausing for an actual salute:
In today’s Cricket Celebration Bowl between Jackson State and South Carolina State, referee Rory Bernard had quite an unusual introduction to his first penalty call. “I’d like to salute our military veterans. …Personal foul, unnecessary roughness, return team.” pic.twitter.com/CNPFeG8hKS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 14, 2024
That would have been notable regardless of what the penalty was. But it perhaps was more interesting still with this wiping out an incredible kick return from Jackson State’s Travis Terrell Jr., which saw a great call from Tiffany Greene on the ABC broadcast:
Here’s the play that wiped out, a massive kick return TD (and somersault into the end zone) from Travis Terrell Jr. for Jackson State. Tiffany Greene and Jay Walker on the 🎙️ for ABC. pic.twitter.com/GymAm8ekEW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 14, 2024
The call, for unnecessary roughness away well from the play (as analyst Jay Walker correctly predicted well before Bernard’s announcement), understandably drew quite a lot of boos from the Jackson State fans in the crowd (who traveled in force for this one; it’s only a 5.5 hour drive from their campus to the Georgia Dome). But those might have been reduced a little bit by Bernard’s previous salute to veterans.
This was certainly a surprising start to a call, and an addition to that canon of notable referee announcements. And it got some speculating on what else we might see in these going forward.
2028 season:
*ref on mic*
If you or a loved one have a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER
Personal foul, number 23…
— Charismatic Frontman (@westerberghs89.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 11:19 AM
[Tim Burke on Bluesky]
