Most NFL fans didn’t see 49ers kicker Jake Moody’s missed game-winning field goal attempt against the Browns on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, in Cleveland.
Jason Miller/Getty Images
But most football fans across the country didn’t get to see the final 96 seconds of the game — whether they wanted to or not.
The matchup in Cleveland ran so long that viewers in most markets outside of the Bay Area and Cleveland left the Fox telecast with 1:36 left in the game. That’s because, as Fox NFL commentator Curt Menefee explained in a deadpan, the NFL requires networks broadcasting the Sunday doubleheader to start the second game exactly on time. That meant that for most markets, viewers missed the Niners’ final drive to watch the East Coast showdown between the Eagles and the Jets.
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“Unfortunately, due to NFL rules, we’ve got to take you from the conclusion of that and get you to America’s Game of the Week,” Menefee said. “We promise to keep you updated as to what happens in Cleveland as they are going down the stretch.”
The combination of Menefee’s somber delivery and the footage of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson running out of the tunnel has led some folks to repurpose the sound and make it a meme.
It’s not only Fox that struggles with this. ESPN often receives criticism from sports fans when it sticks with the game it is currently broadcasting — most frequently in college basketball or college football — and push the next event on the schedule to a secondary network (like ESPN News). It even once sent an NBA playoff game to a different channel to keep the feed on boxing.
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Still, ESPN occasionally makes the cut-in call. It most recently did so Friday night, and received vocal complaints for leaving a high school football game in the final 30 seconds to show an NBA preseason game.
It’s a no-win choice: Stick with the current game, even if that means some fans will miss the start of a game they’ve been waiting for; or cut away from a game fans have watched almost all of right when it’s getting good.
On the plus side, Fox’s decision Sunday at least spared most NFL fans across the country from watching Jake Moody miss the potential game-winning kick for the 49ers.
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