Mike Tirico shared a surprising secret during Sunday Night Football.
The NBC play-by-play announcer recently tore his Achilles. Rather than mention it in the opening, or early in the game, Tirico kept his condition a secret until midway through the third quarter, when analyst Cris Collinsworth seemingly had to drag it out of him.
Collinsworth had the perfect segue, as the broadcast had run a promo for St. Denis Medical, a new mockumentary medical sitcom on NBC.
“I’ve got a patient for them,” Collinsworth said. “C’mon man, c’mon man, let’s give it up, let’s tell America.”
The SNF camera cut to shot from behind Tirico, and Collinsworth used his telestrator to draw a yellow circle around Tirico’s left leg propped up at an awkward angle.
“Hi,” Tirico said nonchalantly, waving to the camera. “Tore my Achilles, I’m OK.”
“Playing with pain out there,” Collinsworth said.
“Playing through it, yep,” Tirico said. “Gonna keep going, make it through the season.”
“St. Denis Medical here we come, baby,” Collinsworth said.
Mike Tirico is playing through the pain, calling the games with a torn Achilles.
“St. Denis Medical here we come, baby,” Cris Collinsworth. pic.twitter.com/8VqlGw3mrK
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 25, 2024
“You’ve got to do the surgery there,” Collinsworth joked about the fictional hospital, which is set in Oregon.
“I’m going to go for the best hospital in Oregon, not the third-best, how about that?” Tirico responded.
A torn Achilles is obviously no laughing matter, but Tirico and Collinsworth found a humorous way to share the news. And NBC executives had to be thrilled for them to get the organic promo in for the new show.
[NBC Sports]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.