#RIPButtFumble: SportsCenter retires infamous Mark Sanchez play
SportsCenter is prepared for an historic retirement today.
Jeremy Schaap has penned an essay. John Brenkus’ ESPN Sport Science lab in Burbank, Calif. hatched a scientific analysis.
[box color=black size=small align=right]Here are some plays that challenged, but couldn’t beat, the “Butt Fumble”
· Belgian player Pierre-Yves Winkin misses four straight layups on his own basket
· NFL receiver Danny Amendola spikes ball, hits usher
· Boston Mayor Thomas Menino mangles names of Patriots players
· Condor flies away during National Anthem at hockey game
· Michael Bourn knocks Miguel Cabrera’s ball over wall for HR
· Cheese-rolling in England
· Jimmy Rollins misplays popup off his head
· Singer Carly Rae Jepsen’s first pitch
· Soccer’s Maurides sprains his knee while celebrating
· Bruins Milan Lucic and Jaromir Jagr collide in Stanley Cup Finals
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Comments from NFL Hall-of-Famers have been gathered. A list of challengers who failed to defeat the honoree has been compiled (see sidebar). So, after being the butt of jokes and undefeated for 40 straight weeks, the current SportsCenter “Not Top 10: Worst of the Worst” play is being jettisoned. The “Butt Fumble” — the longest-running “Not Top 10” and “Top 10” play in SportsCenter history — will be no Moore.
And because of it, on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez will likely be the happiest backup in the NFL.
There will be comfort for Sanchez in knowing that the “Butt Fumble” – the Nov. 22, 2012 play in which he stumbled into the backside of offensive lineman Brandon Moore, fumbled, and saw the New England Patriots’ Steve Gregory return it for a touchdown – has been moved to the “Not Top 10” rafters.
“We are retiring it this week due to the start of a new NFL season, and the feeling that it was time to start fresh,” said Senior Coordinating Producer Mark Summer. “The ‘Butt Fumble’ has won the ‘Not Top 10’ each week since last Thanksgiving, and we’re not sure anything could top it.”
At least one SportsCenter anchor is fully behind the derriere denouement.
“I won’t miss the ‘Butt Fumble’, but looking back, I will still marvel at its longevity and popularity,” said Kevin Negandhi, who will anchor the retirement party with Sara Walsh. “It really was an unstoppable force, but it’s time, especially when one of the players (Moore) involved has already retired. Time to get some new material and years from now, when we see a really bad play, we’ll say, ‘But can it compare to the Butt Fumble?’ THAT is setting a legacy.”
No butts about it.
