When Mark Jones calls a game, fans know they will hear something different.
Some fans like that. Others definitely do not.
The ESPN play-by-play announcer always gets creative with his calls, using obscure words, phrases and analogies that leave fans stumped.
Jones came ready to roll in his season-opening game, with the Colorado Buffaloes hosting the North Dakota State Bison. His most thesaurus-worthy work came late in the third quarter. NDSU quarterback Cam Miller faked a pass and tucked it for a nice run.
“Great handiwork and prestidigitation with those fakes and sleight of hand,” Jones observed.
Color analyst Roddy Jones responded with a question: “What was greater, the number of yards Cam Miller got on that scramble or the number of syllables in that word?”
Earlier in the game, Jones dropped a “grandma’s couch” analogy.
Fans really have no idea what they’ll get when Jones gets rolling. Earlier in the game, when Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders hit Travis Hunter with a touchdown pass, Jones dropped some lyrics from rapper BossMan Dlow. “In the words of BossMan Dlow on the sidelines, Colorado … pockets full of cheese and fresher than Febreze right now,” Jones said.
The rapper responded to the shout-out with a post on X. He wasn’t the only one responding to Jones’ word antics Thursday night. Most seemed irritated by the announcer’s calls.
My favorite part was when he said Shadeur Sanders had 3D vision….just like every other human being with functional eyes.
— Brian Cambridge, from work (@CerowB) August 30, 2024
While many fans might be irritated, it’s a good bet Jones will not stop.
[Photo Credit: ESPN]