Joe Buck Has Perfect Mindset With The Criticism He Receives

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Joe Buck Has Perfect Mindset With The Criticism He Receives

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Apr 14, 2026 5:03 PM ET

It seems like every sports broadcaster that has been in the industry for a while has sizeable faction of people who can't stand them. This is especially true of Joe Buck, who tends to go viral with people mocking him every time he goes on the air.

But through the years, Buck has learned how to change his mindset and avoid letting the words of anonymous people on the internet get him down.

Appearing on Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, Buck explained that for a time he did let the hurtful things people said bother him. He felt that while there were plenty of "basement dwellers" criticizing him, there were likely CEOs and people of importance with the same opinion.

"I did let it bother me,” Buck said, via Awful Announcing. “Unless you’re a psychopath, when you see things written about you and they’re not nice, it’s hard to just slough that off.

Joe Buck came to terms with social media criticism: ‘This is part of the job’ https://t.co/uulgAR8fah
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 14, 2026

“People say, ‘Why do you care about somebody in their mom’s basement?' Well, maybe they’re not in their mom’s basement. Maybe they’re a CEO, and they think you suck. So, I don’t subscribe to that either.”

The Solution

Buck concluded that the only real way to avoid letting the nastiness get him down was to just accept that not everyone would like him, no matter what. He said that it hurt at first to feel that way, but hearing words of praise from the people that matter in his life made him feel better.

“If you’re going to cash the check and you’re going to be there all puffed up getting ready to do World Series, Stanley Cup, or the Super Bowl… This is part of the job,” he said. “You have to be an adult and realize that not everybody’s gonna like you. I realized that a long time ago. It wasn’t easy and it hurt.

“When it’s on your phone, it feels personal. When it comes to this thing, and it’s in your hand, and it’s on the same thing that your family and your daughters text you, I love you. Then you see, oh, ‘You suck. You’re the worst I’ve ever heard. Good thing you had a famous dad.’ It’s all filtered in the same machine, and it feels like it’s more personal.”

That's a pretty good mindset to have in general.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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