The Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins played what some thought could be an AFC Championship Game preview on Sunday. But because the game took place in Frankfurt, Germany, one of the biggest regular-season games of the NFL season kicked off at 9:30 a.m. ET.
That rubbed a lot of NFL viewers the wrong way. Among them were Boston radio hosts Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb, who called out the league for letting one of its premiere contests take place so early in the morning.
“The NFL has to be pleased that one of the biggest matchups of the year happened before most people remembered to turn on their TVs,” Shertenlieb said Monday on 98.5 The Sports Hub Toucher & Rich.
Listen: Toucher and Rich Podcast – Around the NFL: Week 9 – 11/6 (Hour 3) – Toucher & Rich https://t.co/UG4UMCbDJu
— 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) November 6, 2023
Shertenlieb might be right about NFL fans on the West Coast, but in Kansas City, the early start led to a staggering amount of TVs tuned to the game.
That is in the running the highest local share ever for any NFL game, if not for any sports event period.
The game was held in Germany, so the early morning kickoff certainly helped.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) November 6, 2023
Toucher added that he’s a big fan of Kansas City itself, telling listeners that they should consider traveling there. However, when it came to the media members who cover the Chiefs, the Boston radio host changed his tune abruptly.
“[Chiefs play-by-play announcer Mitch Holthus] sucks. Everyone in Kansas City,” said Toucher. “Chiefs fans are awesome…I suggest you go to Kansas City for a game. The fans are incredible…[Holthus] sucks and like everyone in media there sucks…The whole performance when the Royals one, that was a disaster.”
Not sure what the Kansas City sports media ever did to Fred Toucher. We were able to find a segment from 2019 when Toucher & Rich seemed to have beef with Kansas City radio’s Fescoe in the Morning. We all know that sports media hate is a special kind of hate, so it’s not too surprising that the anger remains as fresh now as it was then.
[98.5 The Sports Hub, Barrett Sports Media]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.