Joe Buck wants to see the Dallas Cowboys playing on Monday Night Football, and he wants to see them every week.
No, Buck doesn’t root against your favorite team, but he very much roots for the Cowboys to show up on his schedule as often as possible. Buck recently joined The Musers on 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas ahead of the Cowboys making their second Monday Night Football appearance of the season next week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Dak Prescott is done for the year, and the Cowboys are having a hopeless season, but Buck won’t let that ruin one of his favorite trips.
“I would do them every week,” Buck said of having to call the 5-7 Cowboys. “I would come to Dallas, enjoy my time in the greater area and enjoy being in that stadium and doing the Dallas Cowboys every damn week. Because they get eyeballs, the’ve got the biggest star in the NFL, his name is Jerry Jones. And they get people to watch on their television sets.”
“They’re the biggest draw in the NFL,” Buck continued. “And that is saying something because the NFL on television is the biggest thing going, and every network lines up with their hands out like, ‘more, sir, more’ when we line up for the schedule every year. And we got two Dallas home games, and I don’t care what their record is. I’m always excited to go to Dallas and watch them play and call it into a headset.”
Buck recently explained that the Cowboys are always relevant and always good television, even when they’re bad. And when you’re in the business of getting people to watch, relevancy and intrigue are more important than a win-loss record.
Surely, Buck isn’t the only person at ESPN who would love to see the Cowboys on Monday Night Football more often. So why doesn’t ESPN give Buck what he wants and make a bid to be the exclusive TV home of the Cowboys? Well, the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act wouldn’t allow it. The NFL must act as a joint entity to maintain its antitrust exemption from Congress. Which means Buck and ESPN are just like everyone else, having to line up with their hands out like ‘more, sir, more’ when the schedule comes out.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com