After football fans and sports media observers on the internet whipped up an exaggerated controversy on the Fox NFL booth’s alcohol habits this week, play-by-play man Joe Buck took to Twitter to explain himself, clarifying that there was not much actual drinking going on, but that the alcohol instead served as a reminder to stay calm and in the moment.
The comments initially came on Colin Cowherd’s podcast, and Buck stated that although he wasn’t in any professional trouble from Fox for what he said or worried about the ramifications, he wanted to set the record straight, particularly as it pertained to Troy Aikman, his co-pilot in the booth.
I don’t tweet much anymore, but I feel compelled to send a few about this dumb drinking in the booth story that is complete clickbait. Also, me giving it more attention is moronic on my part, but so what?
— Joe Buck (@Buck) February 18, 2021
My bosses at FOX have not said a word to me about it. They know how dedicated I/we are, and how hard we work and how much we care about EVERY WORD that comes out of our mouths. Most of all they trust us. For those three hours and through all the prep NOTHING is more important.
— Joe Buck (@Buck) February 18, 2021
As Buck explains, he occasionally has the runner for the booth buy the biggest cup of beer available in the stadium just to set it in his line of sight while calling a game and potentially sip it every so often just as a reminder to relax. Buck has been open about his battles with anxiety and depression as a result of his career, and this was one way that he was able to stay cool.
My only regret with anything I said on Colin’s pod was mentioning @TroyAikman Nobody has more integrity or works harder than him and I am blessed to call him one of my best friends on the planet. We have fun with what we do and back then I started this trend in baseball and..
— Joe Buck (@Buck) February 18, 2021
when I went back to football I told him I had the beer in my line of sight as a visual reminder and took a sip from time to time – to be loose and to remember to enjoy it. I have a tendency to get stressed and try to be perfect calling a game – as impossible as that may be.
— Joe Buck (@Buck) February 18, 2021
As I said with @ColinCowherd it wasn’t there to be consumed, it was there as more of a visual reminder that the world wouldn’t end if I made a mistake. It was symbolic and one of MANY things I would use, like texting with my wife and kids or calling my mom at half – just to chill
— Joe Buck (@Buck) February 18, 2021
In the tweet thread, Buck elaborates on how his biggest regret of discussing the practice out in the open with Cowherd was bringing Aikman into it, though Aikman has not officially commented.
Troy had zero to do with it. I am an open book – sometimes to a fault, but I just really don’t like hiding anything (see: hair transplants or battling depression and anxiety). But when a https://t.co/iOlRh5cMwJ headline writer says I said I had 1 or 2 drinks during a game??
— Joe Buck (@Buck) February 18, 2021
The whole story has become far more fraught than it probably had to be, as no matter what the extent of this little mental trick is for Buck and Aikman, it does not seem to ever affect their work.