Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and ‘MNF' Audience All Delighted By Jake Bates’ Softball Trick

Stephen Douglas | Dec 30, 2024

Jake Bates stays limber during the Lions - 49ers game. / @NFLonFOX / ESPN

America was enjoying a great Monday Night Football matchup between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers when all of a sudden kicker Jake Bates came out of nowhere to become a rather delightful meme.

The Lions and Niners were involved in a meaningless Week 17 shootout when ESPN showed a clip of Bates working out a knot in his leg by laying on a softball. Only you couldn't see the softball, and Bates was just kind of laying on the field making faces.

The clip delighted Joe Buck and Troy Aikman and everyone online.

pic.twitter.com/ipoN4d9FaP

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 31, 2024

Cameraman did Jake Bates dirty pic.twitter.com/2H4ylFASCM

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) December 31, 2024

draw me like one of your French girls pic.twitter.com/f2niVQ8Pr6

— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) December 31, 2024

Live look at Jake Bates -- pic.twitter.com/aCfckcDG7v

— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) December 31, 2024

No matter what Jake Bates does for the rest of his career, this clip will follow him. If the Lions win the Super Bowl the softball may end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The moment was so memorable and weird that ESPN again showed it as they went to commercial after Bates kicked a 42-yard field goal to extend the Lions' lead.

Joe Buck appears to be into whatever Jake Bates is doing pic.twitter.com/LDacUcMQ1G

— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) December 31, 2024

Good thing he stretched.

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