Confused TV announcer acted like this very bad kick was good for so long

This kick was not good. The announcer thought it was good:

Paulie Fricano, the kicker for Eastern Michigan, let loose a 50-yard field goal try. It didn’t go through the uprights. It wasn’t close to going through the uprights:

The analyst on the CBS Sports Network broadcast is listed as Jay Feely, the longtime NFL kicker who’s fashioned himself as a kicking expert in his post-playing career.

“Off the crossbar! He just barely had enough, but he knocked it through, Ben,” Feely said, talking to play-by-play man Ben Holden.

“That’s a big kick for Paulie Fricano! Eastern Michigan answers. 3-3.”

It was not, in fact, a big kick for Paulie Fricano, who missed it by a lot.

I’m a little confused about how this happened, because the kick didn’t hit the crossbar or go in, but it’s not like it “just barely had enough” in terms of distance. Fricano got good leg on the ball, and if it were straight down the middle, it would’ve counted.

Here’s what he said after the commercial break:

Judging field goal depth and accuracy from a side angle (like where the press box is located) is difficult. My guess is that Feely was watching it from that vantage point and not on a TV monitor, and that’s what caused the confusion. My eyes have played tricks on me from that spot in a stadium before, too, and probably will again.

At any rate, this is good fun.