Identification mistakes happen, but it’s pretty funny to see a network’s social media account mix up two rather different-looking people who have been panelists on their show for decades. The NFL on Fox Twitter account did that Sunday, initially attributing comments from Jimmy Johnson on the Chicago Bears, Justin Fields, and tanking for USC Trojans’ quarterback Caleb Williams (and possibly also USC head coach Lincoln Riley) to Terry Bradshaw. And that got noticed. First, here’s the eventually-corrected version:
https://twitter.com/NFLonFOX/status/1708523552084054123
The initial tweet was identical in text, except it tagged Bradshaw and attributed those comments to him. And many took notice of that:
terry bradshaw was NOT the speaker pic.twitter.com/MaM2DGEmAJ
— Bryce (@Bryce_Stanley19) October 1, 2023
That's, uh, not Terry Bradshaw. https://t.co/GDwTvTB1BE
— Matt Clapp (@DaBearNecess) October 1, 2023
https://twitter.com/marshallburns12/status/1708522298423058522
That's not terry bradshaw
— Luke (@luke__68) October 1, 2023
Umm… Jimmy Johnson is not Terry Bradshaw
— Ray Callahan Jr. (@AngryBeaver1127) October 1, 2023
Easy enough mistake to make. Terry Bradshaw has only been a part of NFL broadcasts for 50 years.
— Waffle Pocket (@waffledaniel316) October 1, 2023
It’s not quite 50 years, but Bradshaw has been a NFL analyst for four decades. He started working for CBS as a guest game analyst for the playoffs from 1980-82 while still playing, then joined the NFL on CBS broadcast team (alongside Verne Lundquist at first) upon his retirement in 1984. He then went to their The NFL Today studio show in 1990, co-hosting that with Greg Gumbel, and then went over to Fox NFL Sunday on its launch in 1994 and has been there since. Johnson also joined that show that year and has also been there since, apart from a 1996-1996 stint where he returned to NFL coaching with the Miami Dolphins. So it’s certainly notable to see the Fox social team mix that up, even if they eventually corrected.
This is far from the first time we’ve seen identification mixups. Earlier this year, the Fox College Football account misidentified one of Deion Sanders’ Colorado assistants as Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell. We’ve also seen mistakes from ESPN, NPR, and many other media outlets, and even some also around the Bears. So Fox is far from alone in this error. But it’s interesting to see an error like this in terms of identifying who was speaking on a broadcast, especially when both of the figures in question have been with the company for so long.
[NFL on Fox on Twitter]
