Joe Buck has been around a long time. I mean a looooooooong time. The lead play-by-play voice of Fox Sports has been announcing the World Series since 1996 and the network’s NFL coverage since 2002. That’s over 15 years as the main voice behind America’s pastime and America’s most popular sport.
And over that time, like with many announcers, there develop opportunities for criticism. For Joe Buck, you’ve probably heard it all before – Randy Moss, Artie Lange, nepotism, etc.
It’s been several years since those episodes though, and Buck has seemed to both loosen up and bring a little more energy in his calls. In short, it’s ok to admit you like Joe Buck these days. It won’t turn you into an outcast in many social circles.
On the other hand, this is a public figure on television who’s on social media. There are still a lot of people who probably think Buck is a smug cyborg created with the sole intent of annoying them slightly. Buck spoke to Esquire about how that image that has been with him for years and how he has learned to deal with it.
How do you cope with being thought of as a smug jerk?
I try to have fun with it. And whether it’s talking about it on [Howard] Stern or doing the Brockmire stuff, I think you kind of stick the pin in the balloon and let the air out, and if people know you can laugh at yourself, well, I can’t be that big of a dick.
It does make sense, doesn’t it? The more authentically self-deprecating you can be, the more you’re going to connect with people. Telling Dan Le Batard about your bad experiences with pot brownies and trading barbs with Brockmire is going to be received a lot better than trying to host your own late-night talk show.
Buck further elaborated on his image by trying to say that he’s just trying to be real with this new lease on life and that he doesn’t have to try to win everybody over.
If that attitude has led to a more carefree Joe Buck we’ve seen in recent years, then maybe that’s a good thing. Perhaps letting go and embracing that side of him has actually led Buck to win a few people over in the past several years. Now sure, there’s probably still a whole section of sports fans that Buck will probably never win over, but maybe that’s okay.
[Esquire]
About Matt Yoder