Seasoned sportscaster Joe Buck says he is “sick” over a call he made seemingly foreshadowing a season-ending injury to Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin.
Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle injury during the final moments of the Bucs’ game against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday. He has since had season-ending surgery.
At the time, Buck had called on Tampa head coach Todd Bowles to pull his starters from the game to save them from injury. The team was down 10 points, starting a drive at their own 25 with 1:34 left in the game. They had no timeouts.
“I know it’s a 10-point game, and I know you don’t give up on games, but at some point, you want to get out of here and live to fight another day,” Buck said.
Joe Buck Curse?
Just moments later, Godwin went down with a devastating and gruesome injury. Indeed, it was so bad that the broadcast booth opted not to show replays.
“Oh no. He can’t get up. I’m told from our production truck we are not going to show the replay,” Buck told viewers as the scene unfolded.
I get where he’s coming from. However, a 10-point deficit with 94 seconds left is not insurmountable. One big play and an onside kick give you a chance.
It wasn’t exactly one of those scenarios where it’s obvious that your players need to come out of the game. Bowles was not wrong for leaving them in.
It was just an unfortunate situation. In an interview with The Athletic, Buck admitted the incident still haunts him a little bit.
“You kind of feel sick that happened,” Buck told the outlet. “I’d rather be wrong.”
I mean, you were still wrong, Joe. The game wasn’t over!
“I would rather nothing had happened. Not that anybody is different than anybody else, but Godwin is one of the really great guys in the league,” he added.
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Bowles Fires Back
After the game, Bowles responded to any assertions he should have pulled his starters from the field. He noted that fellow wide receiver Mike Evans had been injured earlier in the game, leaving the receiving corps a little thin.
Oh, and there’s that whole pesky wanting to win the game thing.
“He’s a player. We’re trying to win the ballgame,” Bowles said. “We were still down 10. We’re trying to get extra points and kick another onside kick. [The injury] just happened.”
Buck recently opened up about the impact of social media vitriol on his career and his psyche.
Speaking on the Michael Kay Show, Buck disclosed that the relentless barrage of negative feedback from fans on social media was a factor in helping speed up his decision to step away from calling MLB games.
“If you’re a human being who cares about what other people think and do, and you try to be a good person and you try to do a good job, and then you read how much you suck or ‘You’re lucky you had a famous dad’ and ‘You hate my team’ and all that other stuff,” he lamented.
Buck is the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck.
Godwin’s injury is a huge blow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He led the league in receptions before going down and was tied for 3rd in both receiving yards and touchdowns.
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