Joe Buck wanted to set the record straight about the comments he made about NFL games having fake crowd noise and virtual fans this upcoming season. On the Sirius XM show Andy Cohen Live, the Fox announcer said it’s “pretty much a done deal” when it comes to NFL games being as real as possible with no fans. Once Buck’s statement went viral, he took to Twitter to explain what he meant.
“Amazing the headline doesn’t match what I said,” Buck wrote in one tweet. “Didn’t think that happened at places like [Sports Illustrated]. I’ve been saying for over a month, including on HBO in April, that some ambient crowd noise under a broadcast is a simple, necessary tool to normalize the viewing experience at home.” In another tweet, Buck said he hopes fans are able to attend games and the stadiums are full. But if that doesn’t happen, Buck said the networks will try to make the viewing experience as normal as they can.
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“It doesn’t have to be over the top,” Buck added in another tweet. “But something has to be there. Contrary to the misleading headline at SI and other places — I said FOX is WORKING on virtual fans. They are working everyday on ANYTHING to make our shows the best on TV. That’s exciting to me, and I am thankful.” Buck also wrote the networks are in “unchartered water,” and it could mean big things for them moving forward.
This is what Buck said on Andy Cohen Live in terms of fake crowd noise: “It’s pretty much a done, deal. I think whoever is going to be at the at control is going to have to be really good at their job and be realistic with how a crowd would react depending on what just happened on the field. So it’s really important. And then on top of that … They’re looking at ways to put virtual fans in the stans, so where you see a wide shot it looks like the stadium is jam-packed and it fact it’ll be empty.” The NFL is slated to start the season on Sept. 10. As of now, the league is expecting fans to attend games, but that could change if the coronavirus pandemic continues to be an issue in August.
