On Jan. 7 the National Bowl Championship Game was played in Florida. It was the Notre Dame Irish against the Alabama Crimson Tide. In the first quarter, with about four minutes left on the clock, the announcers used about 30 seconds to gawk over Alabama Quarterback, AJ McCarron’s girlfriend Katherine Webb.
The word “wow,” was said several times throughout the broadcast. Broadcaster Brent Musburger, 73, remarked to his co-broadcaster, Kirk Herbstreit, “Quarterbacks get all the good looking women.”
Musburger has had a controversial career; he caused a storm in 1968 for comparing two Olympians to Nazis. That commentary was not as widely criticized, but then again Twitter wasn’t in existence yet.
Webb, the former Miss Alabama, met McCarron in November at the Miss USA pageant. Obviously, the two have not been dating long, but their relationship is already in the spotlight. In several interviews, Webb has defended Musburger’s remarks by saying she was flattered.
In the post-game interview McCarron was asked about his girlfriend and was told how many new Twitter followers she had. In case you were wondering, she is currently up to 269,759 with constantly growing numbers, which is more than her superstar boyfriend who is only at 146,789.
My problem is not necessarily with what Musburger said but rather the 30 seconds of unnecessary commentary and the several times she was shown on camera. Many people probably didn’t hear the score or knew who the BCS champions were; all they knew was how “hot” the quarterback’s girlfriend was.
Personally, if I were one of these players, especially AJ McCarron, I would be annoyed with the excessive media coverage coinciding with the game coverage. This is not Webb’s fault and I am sure Musberger meant no harm by his comments, but for those of us watching at home, our jaws were dropped.
I watch football to watch football. I couldn’t care less when the cameras pan to players’ girlfriends because if I wanted to know who they were dating I could Google it later. The action should never be in the stands; it should always be on the field, especially during game play. I hope this is a turn for the better in terms of broadcasting and that society realizes what truly matters during the National BCS game. The most important aspect is the 22 players on the field who have worked hard throughout the season to earn their place at the top and deserve to have the spotlight on them.