Jim Nantz doesn’t make many mistakes as a broadcaster, so when he finally does, it’s important to take a quick note.
Late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers on CBS, Nantz listed a few NFL headlines from earlier in the day. And when it came time to say something about the Washington Commanders, the legendary play-by-play voice briefly sounded like Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
“The Eagles, come from behind to beat the Commodores,” Nantz said before quickly correcting himself with a chuckle.
There have been rumblings that new owner Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris might be interested in another name change for the NFL franchise. Although the Commodores seem like an unlikely choice.
Last year, Russo struggled with the Commanders, similarly calling them the Commodores instead. It wasn’t too much of a surprise considering Russo has also failed to pronounce hundreds of names including Matt Eberflus, Chris Olave, Saquon Barkley, and Qatar, to list a few. It was, however, a little surprising when Russo appeared to rub off on Mike Francesa and had him saying the Commodores last year. And it’s an absolute stunner to now hear Commodores from the mouth of Russo’s good buddy Jim Nantz.
It’s probably unfair to put Nantz in the same category as Russo when it comes to mispronunciations. Nantz is one of the most polished broadcasters in sports history, while it’s sometimes head-scratching to think someone with Russo’s cartoonish voice and one-of-a-kind accent has been able to build such a successful career behind the mic. But calling the Commanders the Commodores and quickly realizing the blunder before anyone could even call him out on it was a harmless mistake by Nantz. Just don’t go channeling Russo’s willingness to wager his career on a sporting event.
