Sports fans know the huge gap between the potential and the reality of “Mic’d Up” segments. Advertising an unfiltered look into what the players, coaches and referees actually say on the field, they are nearly always ruined by the subjects’ knowledge that they’re being recorded, and peppered with way too many grunts from mid-play footage. All fans know that the good stuff comes from those who either aren’t aware they’re mic’d up, or don’t care.
That’s why this video is genius. Most of the clips from this compilation are when referees deviated from their robotic rulebook script, like the hockey ref simply saying, “You can’t do that,” or a football ref describing a personal foul as “giving him the business.” We need more of that in sports; a little levity goes a long way.
That being said, though this video highlights just how profane NFL quarterbacks are, the tamest curse is still the funniest: Peyton Manning’s “GOD DAMMIT, DONALD!” when running back Donald Brown missed a blitz pickup. There’s something so very Peyton about yelling at his own player for screwing up while the play is still live that we’re really going to miss when the old QB likely hangs his cleats up at the end of this season.
