The Buffalo Bills missing another field goal in the waning minutes of a playoff game led to a lot of notable announcing calls. On the English TV broadcast of the Bills’ Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on CBS Sunday, Jim Nantz had “NO! HE DOESN’T MAKE IT! Wide right. The two most dreaded words in Buffalo have surfaced again.” On the Westwood One radio broadcast, Kevin Harlan had “NO GOOD! WIDE RIGHT! WIDE RIGHT! THE BILLS’ KICKER MISSED A FIELD GOAL, WIDE RIGHT! JUBILATION FROM THE CHIEFS’ SIDELINE!” But the Korean broadcast perhaps had even more emotion, and hit at the heartbreak here for Bills’ fans:
— 준 Jun (@Royals_Jun) January 22, 2024
And that drew a lot of notice Monday. Here’s some of that:
https://twitter.com/Davcon1508/status/1749444062032044215
This rocks. I need these Korean announcers on every broadcast https://t.co/nGIudE5FQV
— Jeremy Bredemeier (@jpbredemeier) January 22, 2024
<SOUND WAY UP>
you don't need to be Korean to feel the pain of all #BILLS fans in this post
This is gold https://t.co/aKXIQhXPE4
— Jerry Durham (@Jerry_DurhamPT) January 23, 2024
I have no clue what these guys are saying and it's still the best call I've heard of this play lmao. https://t.co/JBmqu5h9co
— Sneed Mod 0 (@seaweed_actual) January 22, 2024
Whether it be esports or traditional sports, Korean casters are just so GOATed, man. https://t.co/JY6HZWPfbi
— Peter (@PeterSchipper13) January 23, 2024
God I love how fun my people make sports sound on TV! https://t.co/JZqJkJPV58
— Sam Wiki (@SamWiki88) January 23, 2024
Missed field goals, and emotional calls thereof, certainly can cross language barriers. And while the calls from Nantz and Harlan both had their own merits and both earned a lot of deserving praise, the Korean call here sure got across just how heartbreaking this moment was for the Bills and many of their fans fans.
Yes, even a successful field goal attempt here wouldn’t have guaranteed even making it to overtime, considering the time left and how well the Chiefs’ offense was clicking. And the reported death threats for Bills’ kicker Tyler Bass after this, which led to him deactivating his social media accounts, are way over the top. But this was a crushing and emotional moment for sure. And the Korean call got that across well.
[Royals_Jun on Twitter/X]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.