Two of the most widely-criticized NFL commentators were also the most popular among viewers for 2023, according to new poll results.
The popular Awful Announcing website asked fans to submit votes for their popular NFL commentary teams of the 2023 season. More than 18,000 votes were submitted.
This year, the leading team was none other than Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, the commentary tandem for ESPN “Monday Night Football.” A whopping 56.97 percent of voters gave the two an “A” grade, with a score of 3.31:
“After two decades of working together, appreciation for Buck and Aikman only continues to grow. The move to ESPN has appeared to revitalize the duo, and the tired criticisms lobbed their way (especially towards Buck) don’t have much merit anymore. After two years, ESPN has absolutely got what it wanted from the pair, and the top ranking this year is well-deserved.”
CBS’ No. 2 commentary team of Ian Eagle and Charles Davis claimed the No. 2 spot on the list, followed by the fellow CBS tandem of Kevin Harlan and Trent Green. Rounding out the top five were Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen (FOX), and Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth (NBC “Sunday Night Football”).
One result that will surprise many? The Jim Nantz-Tony Romo tandem at CBS only placed sixth in the rankings with a score of 2.82. Their most common grade was a “B”, given by 40.81 percent of voters:
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“The score and ranking dip that started last season continued this year with Nantz and Romo, formerly the apples of almost every NFL fan’s eye. There’s been backlash towards Romo and his broadcasting style and the novelty of his exuberance has worn off. Despite that, there’s nothing wrong with coming in sixth overall.”
Buck and Aikman were at FOX together for two decades before accepting the “Monday Night Football” positions from ESPN in 2022. The legendary Al Michaels also left NBC and took on the “Thursday Night Football” broadcasts at Amazon Prime Video, teaming up with ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
Michaels and Herbstreit were ninth in the polls at Awful Announcing with a score of 2.29.
