ESPN’s broadcast of Texas–Tennessee on ABC was hit by what Chris Fowler called “audio gremlins” about five minutes into the first half.
It came right after Laura Rutledge explained the practice of what’s called “electromagnetic deconfliction.” With President Trump on hand at Neyland Stadium, Secret Service agents stationed throughout the venue will need to communicate with each other as he moves through the venue. While it shouldn’t affect coach-to-coach radio frequencies (but potentially coach-to-player), the systems are set up so they don’t interfere with each other.
Almost on cue, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit’s mics were affected by static.
At one point, Fowler had to call the game by himself while ESPN’s on-site technical staff had to fix Herbstreit’s mic. As the quarter progressed, Herbstreit was eventually able to use his mic again, but it was still full of static.
Here’s hoping ESPN can find a way to resolve the technical issues. To the network’s credit, both Fowler and Herbstreit sounded good to start the second quarter. We’ll see if that continues, though.
On the field, Texas had a 7-3 lead over Tennessee at the end of the first quarter. Arch Manning put up 120 yards on 7-of-8 passing. True freshman Faizon Brandon, in the biggest game of his young college career, has completed two of his three passes for seven yards as the Volunteers have been held to just a field goal thus far.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
