Watch: Jim Nantz brutally jinxed Michael Badgley before first missed FG of season(Video)
By Josh Hill
Jim Nantz came in hot with a cold-blooded jinx for Detroit Lions kicker Michael Badgley ahead of his first missed kick of the season.
Not a single Detroit Lions fan was thankful that Jim Nantz was in the CBS booth for Thursday’s Thanksgiving game at Ford Field.
It wasn’t that anyone was ungrateful for having the iconic NFL announcing duo of Nantz and his partner Tony Romo, it was that Nantz cold-bloodily threw out a jinx that stopped an otherwise hot Lions team in its tracks.
For the most part, the Lions were playing the visiting Buffalo Bills surprisingly well on Thursday. Detroit came into the game on a three-game winning streak — the longest the team has had in a very long time — and managed to put up a fight not many saw coming.
That was, of course, until Nantz gave them the kiss of death.
Nantz almost condescendingly brought up the announcer jinx as Michael Badgley stepped up to attempt a field goal in the third quarter.
“Do not talk to me about an announcer’s jinx,” Nantz said as Lions fans everywhere braced themselves. “Michael Badgley has not missed a kick all year.”
You can probably guess what happened next:
Tony Romo was beside himself reacting to Nantz’s kiss of death, and couldn’t believe that his partner had thrown out tempting fate into the universe.
“Lions fans, I apologize,” Romo laughed as Badgley walked off the field after his first miss of the season.
Announcer jinxes are no joke — specifically with Nantz. It’s like how you’re not supposed to talk to a pitcher during a no-hitter or even acknowledge that it’s happening lest you jinx it.
Badgley had quite literally been perfect the entire season, not having missed a field goal or an extra point, until Nantz tempted the football gods. Unfortunately for Badgley, Nantz wasn’t the one who had to answer for his blasphemy and the Lions were the ones who ended up paying the price by leaving three points on the field.