Looks like we have a scandal brewing at New York cable station SNY, which broadcasts the majority of New York Mets baseball games. Just after the Mets lost 6-2 to the Florida Marlins Friday night, a piece of a sound byte making fun of the New York Mets from a "Family Guy" episode was heard over the air.
To provide some background, here's video of the 'Family Guy' clip in question (via Youtube) which apparently aired November 2010. Stewie expresses his disgust as the public address announcer declares the season over immediately after the first pitch on Opening Day.
Fast forward to SNY coverage of the New York Mets game, starting just about at the moment that the game ended. Watch and listen carefully the announcers' voices fade and a piece of the PA announcer's sound byte from the "Family Guy" clip plays for a few seconds before it is cut off and fades out as the announcers' voices return.
To provide some background, here's video of the 'Family Guy' clip in question (via Youtube) which apparently aired November 2010. Stewie expresses his disgust as the public address announcer declares the season over immediately after the first pitch on Opening Day.
Fast forward to SNY coverage of the New York Mets game, starting just about at the moment that the game ended. Watch and listen carefully the announcers' voices fade and a piece of the PA announcer's sound byte from the "Family Guy" clip plays for a few seconds before it is cut off and fades out as the announcers' voices return.
"It's New York," said [Jay Horwitz, ] the Mets PR man since 1980, with a shrug and world-weary grin. "You can't overreact. It gets to the point where you're almost immune to it all. I'm sure that what happened was accidental, not malicious, and I'm sure the person who did it felt terrible."If Horwitz actually saw the clip, he may feel differently. It can't be a coincidence that this exact clip was chosen to be used on the Mets broadcast network and on Opening Day. Someone would need to have the 'Family Guy' clip queued up and ready to be played. That same someone would also need to have control of the sound to allow the announcers' voices to fade out so that the clip could be heard. Very unlikely this was an accident.
An SNY official described the incident as a mistake that was being handled internally. He would not name the employee or say if he or she would be fired.Friday also happened to be April Fool's Day, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that this was some sort of prank. Ultimately it may also prove to be the last day of employment for someone at SNY as well, although one day it would be great to hear the other side of the story.
'Family Guy' slip up on opening night won't faze Mets... [NY Daily News]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
