Thom Brennaman is in his first season behind a microphone for a nationally televised package of games since his incident as the Cincinnati Reds broadcaster in 2020.
The longtime play-by-play announcer is calling ACC football games for The CW. Saturday, that package featured a game between the Syracuse Orange and Boston College Eagles. And as some were quick to point out when the game was scheduled for The CW, Brennaman would once again be calling a game featuring a Castellanos.
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos has led the team to a 4-4 record so far this season, including an upset win over Florida State in Week 1. This is only notable, of course, because of Brennaman’s infamous call of a Nick Castellanos home run while he simultaneously attempted to apologize for using a homophobic slur on-air.
That “a drive into deep left field by Castellanos” call by Brennaman has lived on in internet history, taking on a life of its own as a meme. So the moment wasn’t lost on Brennaman Saturday when he highlighted BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos prior to the game.
“We’ll also see Thomas Castellanos. How ’bout that?” – Thom Brennamanpic.twitter.com/Nxvp9Bdw5y
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 9, 2024
“Couple of good quarterbacks in this one. You know about Kyle McCord. We’ll also see Thomas Castellanos! How ’bout that?” Brennaman joked while giving a sly look to the camera.
It’s good to see that Brennaman can acknowledge his situation with a sense of humor. After the incident, Brennaman took steps to make amends with the LGBTQ community and was “overwhelmed with gratitude” when The CW gave him a second chance earlier this year.
Still, it’s unlikely that the stage will get much bigger than this for Brennaman in the rest of his career. The commentator brings too much baggage for more high-profile networks to hire him.
Too bad this game didn’t happen during baseball season, because it’s likely that Nick Castellanos would’ve hit a home run the same day if it did.
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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.