ABC was not in postseason form as it introduced the halftime show of the New York Knicks–Miami Heat playoff game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. (Watch the video below.)
The network oddly cut to stock imagery of the long-gone World Trade Center with no context, jarring viewers, Awful Announcing reported. And it stayed there for several seconds as the footage promoted MetaQuest’s presentation of “ESPN on ABC’s” halftime report.
Broadcasters sometimes use canned images or skyline video of the host team’s city during a game, but usually it’s contemporary. Historical background for an upcoming segment or perhaps a whimsical nod to the past with brief commentary can be exceptions.
The twin towers collapsed shortly after passenger jets hijacked by terrorists rammed into them on Sept. 11, 2001. The iconic skyscrapers don’t really make for a jaunty intro to a sporting event segment.
“We mistakenly used an old stock image and we apologize,” an ESPN spokesperson told the New York Post after the Knicks lost Game 1.
Fans let the broadcasters have it on Twitter, calling it a “big yikes” moment and also joking about the blunder.
“It’s from the last time the Knicks were relevant,” one wrote.
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