Have you ever noticed how Cris Collinsworth, analyst for NBC Sunday Night Football, always calls the NFL the “National Football League?”  He has to say the entire name like we forgot what “NFL” stands for.  It must be more definitive to not use the acronym.  I guess, it’s like when your mom used your full name to get your attention when you were a kid, “Gary Scott Cline you get in the house right now!”

In fairness, it’s not just Cris Collinsworth.  Lots of other NFL announcers have this habit of saying the entire name of the league for which they work.  But it’s a habit peculiar only to NFL announcers.  NBA announcers don’t say that a great player is the best in the “National Basketball Association.” NCAA announcers don’t talk about brilliant athletes in the “National Collegiate Athletic Association.”  It must be the strength and brutality of the NFL that really lends itself to needing that extra emphasis.