Legendary sportscaster Brent Musburger caused quite the Internet buzz when people heard him complimenting a woman’s appearance — gasp! – during Monday’s BCS National Championship Game between the University of Alabama and Notre Dame.
The woman was Katherine Webb, the reigning Miss Alabama beauty pageant winner and current girlfriend of the Crimson Tide’s quarterback, A.J. McCarron.
Shortly after Musburger’s blunder, both he and Webb started trending on Twitter. Webb’s Twitter followers increased from 2,300 to more than 200,000 in less than two days. Many people (women in particular) flocked online to share their disapproval of the sportscaster’s “creepy” and “inappropriate” comments.
ESPN quickly went into crisis mode and issued an apology for Musburger’s comments.
I heard Musburger’s comments live during the game and honestly wonder why they caused such a stir.
Musburger comments about Katherine Webb
Here’s a portion of the 73-year-old sportscaster’s babbling tribute to Webb:
“You quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women. What a beautiful woman … If you’re a youngster in Alabama, start getting the football out and throw it around the backyard with pop.”
Even The Today Show’s Matt Lauer tried to coax Webb into admitting she was unnerved by the comments during his interview with her a day or so after the big game. Not surprisingly (to me anyway), she said she thought Musburger’s comments were harmless if not flattering.
Katherine Webb on The Today Show
She’s a gorgeous, BEAUTY pageant winner in her prime. Is it creepy when I state the obvious? What about if I throw in a “WOW!” for extra emphasis like Musburger did?
McCarron is the star quarterback for the No. 1 team in the nation. Of course he’s going to snag the hot girl. It’s the same formula that led Gisele Bündchen to Tom Brady. The couple welcomed their second child last month.
Why are we beating up an ESPN announcer for stating the obvious? Should we not be more up in arms about how boring the BCS Championship game turned out to be?
Heidi Woodard is married with three children. Read her Thursdays on momaha.com
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