The ESPN announcers for Saturday’s Cricket Celebration Bowl have skin in the game.
Tiffany Greene went to Florida A&M University. Jay Walker not only went to Howard University but also quarterbacked the 1993 team to an 11-0 record and a national championship. They’ve never called a game where both their teams were involved, so that set the stage for a bit of trash talk in advance of the game, as they went on the HBCUSports.com podcast with HBCU Sports writers Kenn Rashad, Kendrick Marshall, Chris Stevens, and Jarrett Hoffman.
Fans will only be treated to this banter if a hot mic gets left on by accident. But rest assured, during those commercial breaks, it’ll be on like Donkey Kong.
Here’s a taste of how it went down, including questions from the hosts and audience:
Jay Walker: Glad to be here. Can you answer one question for me? I argue with Tiff about this all the time. We got four votes here, four votes. I need by show of hands: How many of y’all agree that Howard University is America’s Black college?
(Crickets. Dead silence. Nobody raises their hand.)
Jay Walker: Oh, really?
Tiffany Greene: You set yourself up for that.
Jay Walker: So, I mean, it was an honest question. What is America’s HBCU? I mean, that’s it, people. You either answer that question truthfully, or you’re a hater.
Tiffany Greene: Or you drank so much Kool-Aid that you were just drunk off this Howard juice because only you and Howard folks sit there and say that. Meanwhile, everybody else at their respective HBCUs claims that their HBCU is “the” HBCU.
Jay Walker: So, name me another school that can claim to be America’s HBCU school, and then I’ll shut up.
Tiffany Greene: …Hampton may stake claim to that. Okay, Morehouse, Spelman… [claim that], as well. … There are others out there. That’s what he does. He just likes to stir the pot…
Question: How has the MEAC been able to dominate the matchups with the SWAC?
Tiffany Greene: [The MEAC team always has been the] more physical team coming in. You know, the SWAC has speed, there’s more finesse there, but I think the physicality is what you always end up hearing on the back end when SWAC teams go up against the MEAC. … I think that this year’s version of the Celebration Bowl is more intriguing because I think FAMU has a physical dominance about them that can match that of Howard and the MEAC.
Jay Walker: There she goes. FAMU’s more intriguing because it’s FAMU involved right now. When we had Coach Prime for two years and everybody else. That’s that FAMU stuff I deal with all the time.
Question: [How will Jay and Tiffany coexist in that booth?]
Jay Walker: Professionalism. We’ll be professional about it.
Tiffany Greene: I echo that sentiment. I think people are expecting or wanting more, but at the end of the day, we still have a job to do. And, quite honestly, we still have to cover teams beyond this season. You know, coaches, players, programs. So, it’s our job first. And, loyalties to our universities aside, and we put those aside every time we call our alma maters. So, I think we’ll be good.
Question: Will there be any friendly wagers on the game?
Jay Walker: I don’t bet on sports. And her team is favored by a couple points. So why would I take that bet? Are you trying to set me up?
Tiffany Greene: We’ve talked about a couple of different things, like, you know, whose fans are going to be there in full effect. We’ve played with some ideas, but honestly, we’re keeping it cool. Nothing is on the table. You got some suggestions?
Jay Walker: Here’s how Tiff is. Tiff is so diehard, so diehard; she was an orange-and-green queen. There is nothing I could ever put in place in a bet that would have her put on something that had “Howard University” on it. She’s just not gonna do it. You know, Howard could beat them by 20. And she won’t wear a Howard T-shirt. Everything she got in her closet is orange and green, period.
