NBC viewers couldn’t believe their ears after Cris Collinsworth hit Marcus Mariota’s name with an extra special pronunciation that sent NFL fans watching Commanders-Broncos a into meltdown online
There are certain NFL broadcast tropes that America seems to embrace, while others appear to have a high success rate of falling completely flat without question.
One of those surefire failures is the try-hard pronunciation of names, which Cris Collinsworth just became the latest victim of during the Denver Broncos-Washington Commanders game on Sunday night.
For a man who has spent 35 years calling games and built a reputation for angering fans with quarterback comparisons to Patrick Mahomes, line play breakdown, and nonstop talking during brief breaks in action, Collinsworth forgot the one way to surefire rattle the public online with the way he pronounced the name of Marcus Mariota.
Collinsworth gave Mariota’s name with the kind of bonus syllable you’d expect from someone trying to impress the Polynesian culture. Mariota is of Samoan and German descent and was born in Honolulu. He has earned over $83 million in career earnings and owns a 3,000-square-foot home in Hawaii.
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The Commanders didn’t have to start passer Jayden Daniels on the field after missing his sixth game due to a knee sprain, a hamstring strain, and a dislocated elbow that fans felt the team could have avoided if it weren’t for the decisions of head coach Dan Quinn.
Instead of the usual pronunciation of Mariota, fans heard both Collinsworth and Tirico say “Mah-ree-OH-tah,” with a dramatic accent at the end of his name that, whether authentic or not, fans weren’t interested in hearing.
Tirico barely caught any strays from the online fanbase despite using nearly the same pronunciation. One viewer wrote, “Tirico and Collinsworth are putting a lil Hawaiian stank on Mariota’s name every time they say it. It’s bothering me.”
Another added, “Why does Collinsworth say Mariota like that,” followed by crying emojis. A third NFL fan wrote, “Lmaooo, why is Collinsworth pronouncing Mariota’s name like that ?”
What made it even more confusing for NFL fans was that Mariota had another game on NBC this season versus the Seahawks, but his name’s pronunciation didn’t even become a headline. The only thing people talked about was the team’s lopsided 38-14 defeat that also saw the team lose Daniels to injury.
Mariota was the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and is 1-4 while covering for Daniels. His lone victory and throwing touchdown came during Washington’s Week 3 win against the Raiders when Mariota also threw for 207 yards.
Five players had rushing attempts in that game, with Jeremy McNichols, Mariota, and starter Jacory Croskey-Merritt all scoring rushing touchdowns.
The Commanders are 3-8, third in the NFC East, and on the verge of being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention after reaching the NFC Championship game last season.
