NFL worker runs from Michael Smith live shot on Thursday Night Football Photo credit: NFL on Prime

Everyone stumbles on an opportunity for at least a few seconds of fame in life. It’s what you do with it that matters.

Thursday night, one NFL worker had his moment of fame and promptly attempted to squander it. But little did that person know, he actually maximized his opportunity by hilariously trying to run from the camera.

During Prime Video’s pregame show for the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, news analyst Michael Smith was on camera, but he wasn’t alone. One NFL worker absentmindedly strolled into view and briefly planted behind Smith before he looked up to learn he was on live TV.


We’ve all been there, daydreaming and staring down out our phone before looking up to realize you’re about to stumble into a tree. Only for this person it wasn’t a tree, it was the red light on a Thursday Night Football camera. What a rush of emotions. From a state of relaxation to surprise, to panic, before ultimately deciding the best course of action is to book it out of there. It’s the exact same cycle my 18-month-old goes through as he sees me approaching with a tissue.

Either this person just sat in a meeting where his boss preached the importance of staying clear of the camera, or this person’s boss is Jim Harbaugh and he’s out there scouting sidelines for when the coach makes his inevitable return to the NFL.

I’m leaning toward the latter. The glasses, the mustache, are we sure that’s even the official NFL logo on his hat? We’re not being judgy, the look works for him, but there are some serious attributes implying that this person might be in disguise.

[Arif Hasan]

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