Chris Berman’s postgame NFL Primetime ramblings had been the soundtrack of my childhood, man. However in Sunday evening’s Tremendous Bowl postgame, Berman stepped manner exterior of his experience together with his ponderings in regards to the first showdown in Tremendous Bowl historical past between black quarterbacks– and positioned his foot squarely into his mouth. Earlier than main right into a spotlight of Tremendous Bowl LVII, Berman highlighted Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes’ historic conflict by becoming Abraham Lincoln’s birthday into the dialog. It didn’t come throughout in addition to he imagined it could although.

The one constructive factor you possibly can say is that we’re fortunate “when you go Black, you by no means return” didn’t come to thoughts first. I’m going to imagine Berman was talking extemporaneously, earlier than he bit into these highlights, as a result of it’s worse if he was studying that off a teleprompter. I’d hope the operator noticed that line coming and had the sense to attempt shortly scrolling previous it.

Extra acceptable references had been proper there

Berman didn’t have to achieve that far into his vacuous jar of historic references to seek out one thing profound to say. It’s already Black Historical past Month. If he needed to speak about how far we’ve come, Abe Lincoln isn’t the historic reference to go together with there. Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick had been extra acceptable comparisons. How about peering again at Warren Moon’s Edmonton Eskimos vs. JC Watts’ Ottawa Tough Riders within the 1981 Gray Bowl? In 1982, Moon edged out Conredge Holloway, who was additionally the primary black SEC quarterback, within the 1982 Gray Cup. Every a kind of figures’ influences did extra for black quarterbacks than Lincoln.

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Secondly, it’s pretty presumptuous of him to assume Hurts and Mahomes are even descendents of slaves. Unless there’s a genealogy deep dive on them both that I missed, I’m not sure it’s wise to spout off about their family trees. This might shock people to hear, but there are millions of black folks in this country who don’t even have roots in Antebellum South. Berman’s mouth got ahead of his brain on that downhill slope.

A decade ago, ESPN was already fielding complaints about Berman’s on-air efficiency.

Tom Jackson’s insights used to stability out Berman’s off-the–cuff evaluation. With out that equilibrium, Berman is the emperor with no garments. Talking with out thought will get him going viral for all of the incorrect causes.

Berman had his run, but it surely’s 2023 now. ESPN retains digging him again up everytime they reduce prices, however each time they do, he’s slightly extra decayed. ESPN holding onto Berman’s fossils like a consolation blanket whereas letting all their younger expertise slip away is a testomony to how dynasties fall into smash.