People will try to convince you that the announcer jinx isn’t real. Those people are liars.
For the latest example, we take you to Sunday’s game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium.
With the Giants trailing 17-7 and 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Graham Gano lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt that would have made it a one-score game heading into the break. The 38-year-old kicker had been perfect all season, converting all eight of his field goal attempts.
“He’s perfect this year, eight of eight, field goal try of 45,” CBS play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan said as Gano approached the ball.
The kick sailed wide left.
The miss snapped Gano’s perfect streak and kept the Giants down 10 points at halftime instead of seven so much for momentum.
The aforementioned announcer jinx couldn’t have come at a worse time for a kicking operation that’s been the Giants’ Achilles heel all season.
Gano missed four games earlier this season after suffering a groin injury during pregame warmups before New York’s Week 3 loss to Kansas City. His absence created a kicking nightmare that culminated in backup Jude McAtamney missing two extra points in the Giants’ historic 33-32 collapse against Denver in Week 7, including one with 37 seconds left that turned what should have been overtime into a Broncos field goal for the win. McAtamney was waived two days later.
The Giants still have Younghoe Koo on their practice squad as insurance. Between Gano’s injury history over the past two seasons and the complete lack of depth behind him, every miss feels magnified — even the ones Harlan speaks into existence.
The legendary broadcaster has been tempting fate for decades, though he’d probably argue the timing is just a coincidence. The kickers who’ve fallen victim to his play-by-play would disagree.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.