Fake laughter has become a staple of every NFL pregame show, just like picking games and last minute injury news.
The true visionary in the overlaughing era was FOX. The network started the trend, and FOX continues to destroy the field in pretending to have a better time than they really are.
The Wall Street Journal did an analysis of the CBS and FOX pregame shows in Week Five. The Journal (or is it the Wall?) determined that laughter took up 142 seconds of the FOX show, roughly 11.6% of the time that the five hosts on the show were seen together.
Terry Bradshaw led the way, laughing for over 92 seconds all by himself.
CBS’ crew, who are about as funny as an episode of Two and a Half Men, only laughed for 43 seconds. Maybe they’ve learned not to force it.
Mike Ditka remains one of my favorite pregame analysts because he refuses to join in with the other ESPN guys when they are yukking it up. The look on Ditka’s face while his cohorts are pretending to have an awesome time is legitimately hilarious.