The city of Philadelphia is about to have a very serious grudge with wires after a controversial moment during the Eagles’ NFC championship game with the San Francisco 49ers.
On a punt from Philly’s Brett Kern, the ball looked to take a strange shift in motion. The Eagles almost immediately blamed the wire hanging over the field that helps steady FOX’s SkyCam.
The Eagles were hoping that the potential snafu would give them new life on the drive or at the very least give them better room to punt. However, the NFL referees couldn’t conclusively say whether or not the ball actually hit the wire, leading to this hilarious admission.
"We cannot confirm whether the ball hit the (Skycam) wire or not." 🏈🎥 #NFCChampionship pic.twitter.com/50sQdUlslu
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 29, 2023
The SkyCam wire has been the subject of controversy already this season, and it has popped up again in one of the biggest games on the NFL calendar.
It’s just one of those strange occurrences that doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it gets everyone talking.
NFL fans certainly had thoughts about the SkyCam wire and the refs.
"We cannot confirm whether the ball hit the wire or not" said the person in charge of adjudicating the billion-dollar enterprise.
— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) January 29, 2023
Having the SkyCam follow Brett Kern after the ball (maybe) hit the wire is evil 😂 pic.twitter.com/gW0fNQlBy6
— Sam Hustis (@SamHustis) January 29, 2023
I certainly did not have “We cannot confirm whether the ball hit the wire or not" on my NFL Bingo Card. #SFvsPHI pic.twitter.com/DmfceuSTOH
— Tyler Roney (@TylerJRoney) January 29, 2023
The eagles sideline after trying to claim the ball hit the wire when the punter just shanked it pic.twitter.com/RBC5tl1zTS
— Gurtej (@gurtejatwal_) January 29, 2023
If the punt hit the skycam wire, it's the only storyline I care about for the rest of the day.
— Mitch Goldich 🐙 (@mitchgoldich) January 29, 2023
FOX refusing to show the Skycam angle when the ball hit the wire pic.twitter.com/BPTIxwoaFv
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) January 29, 2023
Punts hitting the skycam wire is a hilariously ridiculous unintended consequence of overproduced football.
— Jeremy Reisman (@DetroitOnLion) January 29, 2023
“We cannot confirm that the ball hit the wire”
Skycam gone after this game, I fear
— Phil Spain 🤫 (@philenespanol) January 29, 2023
NFL officials trying to determine if the punt hit the skycam wire pic.twitter.com/89nmZMwceY
— Two Inches Short (@TwoInchesShort) January 29, 2023
“We can’t tell if the ball hit the skycam wire”
you have 728 camera angles, pretty sure you could probably find one
— Lucas Dolengowski (@LDolengowski) January 29, 2023
Surely the Skycam would show whether or not the wire got hit
— Carl (@CVanV8) January 29, 2023
There may not be footage of the ball hitting the wire but wouldn’t there be footage of the skycam shaking suddenly for no reason?
— Danny the Champion of the World (@GiantsPod) January 29, 2023
The NFL does not want the Skycam wire to be a factor in an NFL game. #SFvsPHI
— Scott Eberhardy (@scotteber) January 29, 2023
Shouldn’t a punt hitting the SkyCam wire be the same as a punt hitting the Jumbotron?
— Abdulla (@abdulla_12_92) January 29, 2023
The Mac Jones Memorial SkyCam Wire strikes again!
— Matt Schooley (@SchooleySports) January 29, 2023
Crazy idea: get rid of the skycam and the wire. #NFLTwitter
— J.P. Scott (@TheJPScott) January 29, 2023