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Many look forward to the festivities to come during week in the game’s first Las Vegas appearance, but one NFL announcer wants no part in participating in what Sin City has to offer.
ESPN’s Joe Buck, the veteran play-by-play voice for “Monday Night Football,” told an ESPN radio station in his hometown St. Louis that he has “no desire” to be in Las Vegas this week before the take on the San Francisco 49ers.
And it’s certainly not because he thinks it’s going to be a bad game. It’s the bad that can happen before it for those attending.
Announcer Joe Buck walks across Lambeau Field prior to a game between the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns on December 25, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Browns 24-22. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
“It’s a lot of logistics. It’s a lot of congestion,” he told “The Opening Drive” on 101 ESPN.
“I’m not that way. I’m not looking for the Maxim party and going out all night. It’s just not my thing, and then you combine that with Vegas.
“There’s going to be some story. There’s gonna be something that happens because it’s Vegas, and it won’t stay in Vegas. It’s gonna be a big something that happens. I don’t know what it is. I have no idea. I just think that is going to be a mess in my mind.”
Of course, Buck isn’t sure what exactly the “big something” will be that he’s referencing.
But, with tons of NFL players and others converging on — a city the league wanted to stay away from for years until recently when the Raiders moved from Oakland — there are some skeptical about what might take place.
For one, sports gambling has been embraced by the NFL and other professional sports leagues, yet rules are still in place that players, coaches and other team personnel must abide by.
Joe Buck attends the 2022 ABC Disney Upfront at Basketball City – Pier 36 – South Street on May 17, 2022 in New York City. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
That obviously hasn’t been the case, though, as NFL suspensions for players found to be sports gambling on league games, whether their own team’s or otherwise, have been passed down.
Stories have also come out of recent Super Bowls, including Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin allegedly making inappropriate comments to a female employee of a Marriott hotel at last year’s game in Phoenix.
NFL Network took Irvin off their programming for the remainder of the week, though a settlement was reached with Marriott in a $100 million defamation lawsuit against them, per the Dallas Morning News.
So far, though, the Super Bowl has started well with Opening Night being a success. Chiefs and 49ers stars took questions about the game, Taylor Swift and other relevant topics leading up to kickoff.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman look on prior to a game between the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
But, as Buck alluded to, the extravagant parties and fun events that will ensue may lead to a big story that even Vegas can’t contain.
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