Jim Nantz has seamlessly transitioned from unbiased announcer to diehard Houston Cougars fan

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For the first time since 1991, Jim Nantz will not be calling this year’s Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The legendary play-by-play man announced last year that the 2023 version of March Madness would be his last, Nantz opting to focus on his family and other broadcasting commitments going forward. Don’t worry, he’ll still be at Augusta National in two weeks time, and he’ll still be alongside Tony Romo in the NFL on CBS booth in 2024.

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Of course, Nantz couldn’t stay away from the tourney entirely, especially with his Alma Mater, the University of Houston, earning a 1-seed after a strong regular season. Nantz’s Cougars handled their business in the Round of 64 but then found themselves in an absolute dog fight on Sunday night against Texas A&M. An unbelievable late flurry of three-pointers and turnovers sent the game into overtime, a terrifying prospect for a Houston team that led by double digits late and had a number of key players foul out. 

But the Cougs rallied in OT anyway and pulled out a gutsy 100-95 win, which Nantz was on hand to witness at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tn. Following the victory, Nantz, being the good guy that he is, took some questions from the media and gassed up his school BIG time. This is how you seamlessly transition from unbiased announcer to diehard fan, folks:

Hello, Friends? More like Hello, Hyperbole! “I only did 354 NCAA Tournament broadcasts, 96 Final Four games, 32 National Championships, I’ve never seen a team have to band together like we did tonight,” Nantz said. “I mean, I’ve seen amazing things happen over the course of all those decades of games. I’ve never seen a team have to go that far down a bench and everybody have their fingerprints on a win like what happened tonight.” 

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Wow! Even the great Jim Nantz is prone to some recency bias. But hey, this is the beauty of March Madness. One second, Nantz is calling NCAA Tourney after NCAA Tourney, completely down the middle, and the very next he turns into a rabid fan just like the rest of us. Full Cougar Pride. It’s a beautiful sight to see, really. Deep down, you knew he always wanted to talk like this about his school, but he simply couldn’t in the position he was in. This must have felt therapeutic. 

Onto the Sweet 16 Nantz goes. Just imagine how he’ll be talking if the Cougs continue to advance. Knowing him, he’s working on some lines right now to perfectly describe it all. “The Cougs continue to ROAR in MARCH!”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com