{"id":5034,"date":"2015-09-25T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T23:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/career-backup-qb-from-verizon-commercial-actually-will-play-this-weekend\/5034\/"},"modified":"2015-09-25T15:55:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T23:55:00","slug":"career-backup-qb-from-verizon-commercial-actually-will-play-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/career-backup-qb-from-verizon-commercial-actually-will-play-this-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Backup QB From Verizon Commercial Actually Will Play This Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:16px\">By  <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2015\/09\/25\/443543283\/career-backup-quarterback-from-verizon-commercial-actually-gets-to-play-this-wee?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=sports\">Laura Wagner<\/a><\/span>  <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>[embedded content]<\/div>\n<div><strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The ad begins: &#8220;A better network as explained by backup quarterback Luke McCown.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Old spaghetti Western-type music fills the background as backup New Orleans Saints quarterback Luke McCown, dressed in full uniform, stands next to train tracks in a field, the sun setting behind him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Verizon has backup generators for most of their towers, so they&#8217;re ready if the power ever goes down,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>McCown then looks up at a cell tower and salutes it with his helmet.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I wonder why they save those backups, and not just put them in the regular rotation?&#8221; he wonders.<\/p>\n<p>The camera cuts to a tight shot of McCown&#8217;s face as he looks into the distance and says, &#8220;I bet if they just had the chance, some of those backups would really shine.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>No word on whether Verizon&#8217;s backup generators will be put to use, but this weekend, McCown has his chance.<\/p>\n<p>With the Saints&#8217; starting quarterback, Drew Brees, suffering from a bruised rotator cuff, he&#8217;s been <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/13738672\/drew-brees-new-orleans-saints-rotator-cuff-injury\">ruled out<\/a> for Sunday&#8217;s game against the division rival Carolina Panthers. So McCown, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nfl.com\/player\/lukemccown\/2506053\/careerstats\">34-year-old, 12-season NFL veteran<\/a> with only nine previous NFL starts, will be under center. It will be his first time starting in an NFL regular season game <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.neworleanssaints.com\/news-and-events\/article-1\/Five-things-to-know-about-Saints-quarterback-Luke-McCown\/9486e3c6-b5f9-40f5-b43b-6510370ab7e4\">since 2011<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Social media immediately took notice:<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I hope Luke McCown plays well. Otherwise, people will think that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/verizon\">@verizon<\/a> back up generators don&#8217;t work.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 tim hasselbeck (@tthasselbeck) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tthasselbeck\/status\/647477705190047744\">September 25, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">All those Luke McCown commercials worked. He&#8217;ll be starting for the Saints against the Panthers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ericsports\/status\/647478772703166464\">September 25, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Saints?src=hash\">#Saints<\/a> Drew Brees OUT for Sunday&#8217;s game. Guess we&#8217;ll see if Luke McCown really means what he says in that Verizon ad <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/gfByQrUN18\">pic.twitter.com\/gfByQrUN18<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Rachel__Nichols\/status\/647477108911009792\">September 25, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>If McCown lights up the field, Verizon&#8217;s commercial will become instant legend. But what could happen if their spokesman for backup reliability isn&#8217;t, well, reliable? Messages left with corporate headquarters went unreturned Friday evening.<\/p>\n<p>The game between the 0-2 Saints and the 2-0 Panthers is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/nfl\/game?gameId=400791557\">Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox<\/a>. Tune in to see how McCown fares \u2014 even if he flops, you might get to see the Panthers quarterback, Cam Newton, do something like this:<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>[embedded content]<\/div>\n<div><strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service &#8211; if this is your content and you&#8217;re reading it on someone else&#8217;s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org\/content-only\/faq.php#publishers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Source:: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2015\/09\/25\/443543283\/career-backup-quarterback-from-verizon-commercial-actually-gets-to-play-this-wee?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=sports\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Career Backup QB From Verizon Commercial Actually Will Play This Weekend\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2015\/09\/25\/443543283\/career-backup-quarterback-from-verizon-commercial-actually-gets-to-play-this-wee?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=sports<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>[embedded content]<\/div>\n<div><strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The ad begins: &#8220;A better network as explained by backup quarterback Luke McCown.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Old spaghetti Western-type music fills the background as backup New Orleans Saints quarterback Luke McCown, dressed in full uniform, stands next to train tracks in a field, the sun setting behind him.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Verizon has backup generators for most of their towers, so they&#8217;re ready if the power ever goes down,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>McCown then looks up at a cell tower and salutes it with his helmet.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I wonder why they save those backups, and not just put them in the regular rotation?&#8221; he wonders.<\/p>\n<p>The camera cuts to a tight shot of McCown&#8217;s face as he looks into the distance and says, &#8220;I bet if they just had the chance, some of those backups would really shine.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>No word on whether Verizon&#8217;s backup generators will be put to use, but this weekend, McCown has his chance.<\/p>\n<p>With the Saints&#8217; starting quarterback, Drew Brees, suffering from a bruised rotator cuff, he&#8217;s been <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/13738672\/drew-brees-new-orleans-saints-rotator-cuff-injury\">ruled out<\/a> for Sunday&#8217;s game against the division rival Carolina Panthers. So McCown, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nfl.com\/player\/lukemccown\/2506053\/careerstats\">34-year-old, 12-season NFL veteran<\/a> with only nine previous NFL starts, will be under center. It will be his first time starting in an NFL regular season game <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.neworleanssaints.com\/news-and-events\/article-1\/Five-things-to-know-about-Saints-quarterback-Luke-McCown\/9486e3c6-b5f9-40f5-b43b-6510370ab7e4\">since 2011<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Social media immediately took notice:<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I hope Luke McCown plays well. Otherwise, people will think that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/verizon\">@verizon<\/a> back up generators don&#8217;t work.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 tim hasselbeck (@tthasselbeck) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tthasselbeck\/status\/647477705190047744\">September 25, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">All those Luke McCown commercials worked. He&#8217;ll be starting for the Saints against the Panthers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ericsports\/status\/647478772703166464\">September 25, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Saints?src=hash\">#Saints<\/a> Drew Brees OUT for Sunday&#8217;s game. Guess we&#8217;ll see if Luke McCown really means what he says in that Verizon ad <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/gfByQrUN18\">pic.twitter.com\/gfByQrUN18<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Rachel__Nichols\/status\/647477108911009792\">September 25, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>If McCown lights up the field, Verizon&#8217;s commercial will become instant legend. But what could happen if their spokesman for backup reliability isn&#8217;t, well, reliable? Messages left with corporate headquarters went unreturned Friday evening.<\/p>\n<p>The game between the 0-2 Saints and the 2-0 Panthers is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/nfl\/game?gameId=400791557\">Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox<\/a>. Tune in to see how McCown fares \u2014 even if he flops, you might get to see the Panthers quarterback, Cam Newton, do something like this:<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>[embedded content]<\/div>\n<div><strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service &#8211; if this is your content and you&#8217;re reading it on someone else&#8217;s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org\/content-only\/faq.php#publishers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-recreation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}