The St. Louis Battlehawks took down the Dallas Renegades 15-9 on Sunday in Week 1 of the (new) XFL. Pat McAfee worked the game as a sideline reporter for ESPN, and the former Indianapolis Colts punter went bonkers when an excellent punt was ruined.
In the third quarter, St. Louis punter Marquette King — the Raiders’ punter from 2013-17 and Broncos’ punter in 2018 — blasted a perfect punt that appeared ready to stop inside the one-yard line, when his teammate Steve Beauharnais knocked the ball into the end zone for a touchback.
McAfee is understandably very serious about the art of punting, and lost it when King’s punt resulted in a touchback:
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1226660385568149504
“OOOH! THAT WAS THE PERFECT… JUST STAY OFF THE BALL! JUST DON’T EVEN TOUCH IT! MARQUETTE JUST HIT A PERFECT PUNT! JUST DON’T EVEN TOUCH IT, BUDDY!”
McAfee even interviewed Beauharnais after blowing the punt.
https://twitter.com/FTBeard1/status/1226658416782802944
Oh, and McAfee and Troy Aikman almost got run over on the sidelines.
The perils of in-game sideline interviews. #XFL2020 pic.twitter.com/Xi3Y5x2PcA
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 9, 2020
[ESPN]
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.