Mike Tirico calls Bills fan catching ball an escaping stadium in Matt Milano jersey Credit: NBC
By Drew Lerner on

Typically, souvenir balls are something you get at a baseball game, not in a football stadium. Don’t tell that to Buffalo Bills fans.

During the second half of Sunday Night Football between the Bills and New England Patriots on NBC, what seemed like an innocuous goal line throwaway by Bills quarterback Josh Allen turned into the call of the night for play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico.

Flushed out of the pocket and rolling right, Allen launched a ball into the first row of the Highmark Stadium crowd. That’s when a Bills fan in a Matt Milano jersey made the grab and bolted for the exit, which NBC’s camera operator brilliantly captured in full.

“He’s gone. Milano. Milano’s gonna go! He’s in row 10! He’s in row 15! He might get a beer!” Tirico belted as the fan ran off with the ball. “Where are you going man? It’s your moment! Milano, row 40. Led by Allen! He’s going to take it the distance! Maybe it wasn’t his seat! Maybe he doesn’t want to be on TV! He’s gone,” Tirico said has the fan disappeared into the concourse.

In an unfortunate and ironic twist of fate, the real Matt Milano was subsequently ruled out of the game with a pectoral injury.

That, of course, led to the obvious joke.

Props to all involved here. Mike Tirico, the camera operator, and the production truck all understood the assignment. Now, does this compare to Kevin Harlan’s legendary call of a streaker storming the field during a Rams-49ers game nine years ago? That’s a tough bar to clear. But Tirico is certainly the leader in the clubhouse for best “fan” call of the 2025 season with this one.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.

View all posts by Drew Lerner