Monday Night Football is an American institution.
But maybe the guys behind the microphone need a refresher when it comes to geeky gadgets. Monday Night Football announcer Trent Dilfer — who was born in Santa Cruz, California and even spent some time in Microsoft’s backyard with the Seattle Seahawks — just referred to a Microsoft Surface Pro 2 as an iPad on the national broadcast.
Here’s what Dilfer had to say:
“And, look at this, Tom Moore. Tom Moore, one of the legendary coaches in this league, working with Carson Palmer, look at him going through the iPad,” says Dilfer, referencing the Arizona Cardinals assistant coach who appears on screen with a Surface. “I wonder how long it took him to learn the iPad to scroll through the pictures.”
In Dilfer’s defense, it is tough to tell what tablet device is securely fastened within the blue-encased cover. Nonetheless, you’d think the broadcast booth might be clued into the new technology on the sideline.
This isn’t the first time the mistake has been made so far this season, with The Verge picking up on the error over the weekend when a Fox announcer said of Saints quarterback Drew Brees: “He’s not watching movies on his iPad. That’s part of the new NFL as well. They have gotten rid of the pictures, and now they have the iPad-like tools.”
As GeekWire resident sports expert Taylor Soper noted in his story earlier today, the football announcers obviously didn’t get the memo about the type of tablet that’s being used on the sidelines this year. In fact, the Surface is now dubbed the “official tablet of the NFL.”
I am sure the PR managers at Microsoft are just fuming, or at least getting a good primer together for the football announcers.
Microsoft is reportedly spending $400 million with the NFL as part of an advertising and equipment deal inked in May 2013. But the miscommunication by the announcers indicates just how tall of a mountain Microsoft must climb to gain brand recognition for its tablet devices.
Microsoft pays a fortune to have Surface tablets on NFL sidelines. Monday Night Football guys call them iPads. Love that so much.
— Jeff Hokit (@jeffhokit) September 9, 2014
Here’s more from the Saints-Falcons game on Sunday.
