It’s not just Shannon Sharpe who sometimes gets names wrong on air. The latest example of this came on NBC Sunday Night Football pregame show Football Night In America this week, where Mike Florio tried to give an injury report on New York Giants’ running back Saquon Barkley, but first named FNIA host Maria Taylor instead before quickly correcting. But that led to an amusing reaction from Taylor:
"It's a right ankle injury for Maria Taylor… er, for Saquon Barkley. Sorry about that. Maria Taylor is fine, by the way. She hasn't injured her ankle yet."- Mike Florio
"Thanks, Mike. Glad to know my ankle is doing good."- Maria Taylor pic.twitter.com/0sMYqwwjKQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 18, 2023
“Give me the latest on him, Mike.” “It’s a right ankle injury for Maria Taylor… er, for Saquon Barkley. Sorry about that. Maria Taylor is fine, by the way. She hasn’t injured her ankle yet. He’s had some injuries in the past, too, a right ankle injury in 2019, torn ACL in 2020, a left ankle in 2021. It’s a demanding, physical position. And X-rays, we’ll see what happens. They play Thursday night in San Francisco. We’ll keep it updated at PFT, Maria.” “All right, thanks, Mike. Glad to know my ankle is doing good.”
It’s understandable how this happens, with show contributors often referencing the host who threw to them or the host they’re throwing back to. Florio just got crossed up when trying to talk about Barkley. And he recognized it and quickly corrected.
But Taylor’s deadpan response here was solid, and got some further laughs from analysts Chris Simms, Devin McCourty, and Jason Garrett. And this made for an entertaining pregame show moment.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter]
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.