The first arrows slung from Richard Sherman to Michael Crabtree happened well before the conclusion of the NFC Championship game.
Fox play-by-play man Joe Buck said the broadcast team sat down with Sherman on the Friday before the Seahawks-49ers showdown. They were talking about the way 49ers receiver Anquan Boldin plays, Buck recalled, when Sherman “steered the conversation toward Crabtree.”
“It was a little surprising because even in those meetings guys keep things close to the vest and we don’t know Richard Sherman all that well, but he was willing to throw that out there about Crabtree with the intent we’d say something about it — and we didn’t,” Buck said. “You have to be judicious with what you reveal from those meetings. I think you file it away.”
Buck later added, “I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of somebody calling someone out because I don’t think a guy would know exactly what we’d do with it. To some extent, we didn’t take the bait and he did it himself.”
Sideline reporter Erin Andrews had said earlier in the week that when Sherman went after Crabtree again while he was speaking to her following the playoff game last Sunday, Fox cut away from the now-infamous interview. Game producer Richie Zyontz confirmed the decision.
“I saw a train coming down the tracks. It was compelling television, and like Joe had mentioned earlier, we had a preview of that in the production meeting,” Zyontz said.
“It started crossing over a line that I didn’t want to see it go. Erin handled it very well, but I think I said, ‘Let’s end this thing.’ He’s a good guy, he’s an intelligent guy, an emotional guy and it was compelling to watch, but it started getting a little dangerous for us.”
In the aftermath of the interviews, one with Andrews, one with ESPN’s Ed Werder and a recently unearthed one with FOX Deportes, Sherman has become the biggest Super Bowl storyline thanks to the wide-ranging reaction to his rant. Sherman deflected a pass away from Crabtree that was intercepted by Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith to secure Seattle’s 23-17 win and a matchup with the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
“He’s gone from a fifth-round receiver to the most talked about player going into a Super Bowl that involves Peyton Manning,” Buck said. “Whether or not that was intentional, that’s been the result. I don’t really have a problem with it.”