Burfict: I'm Being Singled Out, I'll Have To Change

[jj22]

(02-23-2016, 04:03 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Don't blame the announcers.  Blame the players who committed 100 penalties in the two regular season games between them.

And Burfict has no one to blame but himself for his reputation.

I think if you go back and watch the game and listen to the announcers they did set the narrative with their focus on Burfict even as Steelers players were dancing and celebrating their big hits and Bengals injuries etc. There was never any comment about that, they didn't even question Porter being in the defensive huddle. One of the more interesting takes on the wildcard game is the influence of the announcers on the narrative. Again, when they start saying Burfict is out of control, watch, you never see Burfict out of control. You just hear them say it over an over again. Watch Burfict, watch Burfict, watch Burfict...... As he sat on the sideline getting direction from Guenther along with the rest of the defense.

Announcers play an important role in the narrative of the game. The narrative they set is in any case, the narrative that is remembered. It's a good case study of how the announcers who did attack Cincinnati fans towards the end of the broadcast (which completely crossed any norm for the industry) and call them names that you don't hear other announcers refer to fans as, can define a game.