There’s plenty at stake Sunday when the Detroit Lions host the Buffalo Bills, but Jim Nantz boosted the hype meter into the red zone with his predictions about the game’s significance.
Appearing on The NFL Today live from Detroit on Sunday, the CBS play-by-play announcer shared his enthusiasm and respect for both teams.
“This game, I think is going to be played back again on Feb. 9,” Nantz said. “For today, there’s a lot on the line for both sides, but I think they’re playing for the right to be the next crowned, ‘America’s Team.'”
So Nantz not only predicted a Buffalo-Detroit showdown in Super Bowl LIX, but thinks the game’s winner should take that vaunted “America’s Team” nickname from the Dallas Cowboys, who’ve unofficially carried that title since 1978.
Nantz went on to say he loves Detroit, and is happy to see the city’s resurgence, drawing agreement from analyst Bill Cowher.
“But I love Buffalo too … and I think that the winner of this game is the new “America’s Team,'” Nantz said.
Lions fans behind the set went wild as Nantz made that statement. The veteran announcer then sent a message to the Cowboys.
“That team down in Texas, they’ve carried that mantle long enough without production,” Nantz said. “And it’s time that we look at someone else as America’s Team. And both of these squads are capable of carrying that mantle.”
Analyst Matt Ryan had an obvious question for Nantz.
“Did you talk to Tony [Romo] about that?” Ryan asked. Romo, who works as color commentator with Nantz on CBS’ No. 1 NFL team, is a former Cowboys star.
“I’ll run it by him,” Nantz replied, laughing. “But I think it fits. I love both of these teams.”
Apparently, some sort of unofficial memo went out recently in the NFL world that the Cowboys be stripped of their longtime nickname. CNN World Sport anchor Don Riddell posted a social media video last week saying the Kansas City Chiefs should assume the “America’s Team” honor since the Cowboys’ glory days were a “distant memory.”
[NFL on CBS]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.