Kirk Herbstreit called “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon Prime with a heavy heart.
Hours after announcing the death of Ben, his beloved Golden Retriever, Herbstreit was calling the prime-time Ravens vs. Bengals clash.
“Calling (Thursday) night’s game was very challenging,” Herbstreit posted to X. “So fortunate to work with such an extraordinary group of people at @NFLonPrime – from the pregame show to the game and the people behind the scenes. Thank you for love and kindness to help me get through it. And thank you to the Bengals and Ravens for providing such a compelling game.”
Herbstreit went through the difficult circumstances of calling the Ravens’ 35-34 controversial win alongside broadcast partner Al Michaels in Baltimore.
The “TNF” staff honored Ben before the game with a touching tribute.
Ben died earlier in the week after a battle with cancer after undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
With Ben’s health deteriorating, Herbstreit noted the pooch was not going to survive and his family made the heartbreaking decision.
“This is really hard to write but so many of you have loved and cared about Ben that I wanted to let you know. We found out today the cancer had spread throughout Ben’s organs and there was nothing left we could do – we had to let him go,” he wrote.
Ben was well known among football fans for flying with Herbstreit on his busy NFL and college football weeks, including when he stole the show during the ESPN pre-game broadcast of the USC-LSU clash in September.
Herbstreit shared a video of Ben finding the pair’s room in the same Baltimore hotel that the analyst was again occupying ahead of Thursday night’s game.
Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, says he has had dogs his entire life but Ben was different.
“Ben was 1 [of] 1. He was smart-loving-gentle-patient-inquisitive-and welcoming to all,” Herbstreit said. “Always a big smile and a soft tail wag. He and I could communicate..he and I understood each other and had each others backs.”
The Golden Retriever made his way into the broadcast booth and got some air time.
“Ben’s down here,” Herbstreit said. “It’s a big booth, he’s just working his way around.”
Herbstreit will likely be working again this weekend. He’s slated to be alongside Chris Fowler for the weekend’s featured game between Alabama and LSU at 7:30 p.m. ET.
