Since 2021, Mark Sanchez has been calling NFL games for Fox. So when he decided to mention CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore on Sunday, it led to a bit of an awkward moment with his broadcast partner Adam Amin.
On the call for the Week 16 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks, Amin and Sanchez discussed a moment in the second quarter where the officials brought out the chain gang to see whether a rush attempt from Vikings running back Aaron Jones was enough for a first down.
It was incredibly close but was ultimately ruled enough for a first down. Amin and Sanchez discussed the call before Sanchez shouted out Steratore, which led to an awkward moment since the game was, of course, being broadcast on Fox, who has its own set of NFL rules analysts, Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino.
“Not by much, maybe by an index card,” said Amin. “That’s a first down.”
“Where is Gene Steratore when you need him?” said Sanchez.
“I’ll take Pereira and Blandino,” replied Amin.
“Oh yeah, sorry,” said Sanchez.
“We respect all networks here, you know that,” added Amin.
Awkward! Fox play-by-play announcer Adam Amin has to remind Mark Sanchez what network he’s calling the game for 😬😅 pic.twitter.com/9vOLNUeX2a
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 22, 2024
It’s not exactly unheard of to hear broadcasters discuss fellow broadcasters on another network. But when you have your own set of rules analysts as Fox does, it can make for a tricky moment to have Sanchez shouting out Steratore instead of Pereira or Blandino.
However, there’s likely another factor at play here when it comes to Sanchez mentioning Steratore based on what Amin said.
What Amin perhaps didn’t pick up on, which Sanchez was likely referring to based on Amin’s index card comment, was the fact that it was Gene Steratore who once measured how close a ball was to the first down line with an index card during a 2017 game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders.
It’s quite possible that Sanchez was just referring to Steratore’s index card moment. But either way, it made for an awkward broadcast moment.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.