Joe Buck ‘Damn Near Died’ in Mexico After a Bad Experience With a ‘Pot Brownie’
Whether you love him or hate him, Joe Buck is a major figure on the American sports landscape. If you’re watching a big-time NFL or MLB game, there’s a good chance that he’ll be in the booth, talking you through the action. His media career, however, could have come to a premature end during a trip to Mexico.
During 2011, Joe Buck headed south of the border in an attempt to relax and rest his vocal cords. That trip included plenty of tequila and some edibles, leading to a near-fatal accident.
Joe Buck has built up quite a resume as a sports broadcaster
There are plenty of cliches about sons following in their father’s footsteps. Joe Buck did just that when he followed his dad, Jack, into the broadcast booth.
While his father worked in radio, Joe Buck has spent most of his career on television. He cut his teeth on regional work in the Midwest but burst onto the national scene at age 25; Buck joined Fox in 1994 and stepped into the NFL broadcast booth as a full-time play-by-play announcer.
In 1996, Buck became Fox’s lead MLB play-by-play man. He also kept calling NFL games and, by 2002, had become’s the network’s lead football voice, too. That dual role has, for better or worse, made him a fixture on the American sports scene; if you’re watching a national broadcast, there’s a decent chance you’ll hear Buck’s voice.
Hair plug-related vocal cord issues and a Mexican vacation
While Joe Buck makes a living using his voice, he does show his face on television during games. With that in mind, the broadcaster has taken some steps to ensure that he looks his best.
As he explained in his memoir, Buck was addicted to hair plugs. After his eighth cosmetic procedure, though, something was wrong: the broadcaster’s vocal cord was paralyzed.
While Buck initially told the world that he was affected by a virus, the problem stemmed from his cosmetic surgery. He also suspected that stress could have played an issue, so he took a trip to Mexico in order to relax.
Joe Buck ‘damn near died’ after eating a ‘pot brownie’ in Mexico
In theory, taking a trip to Mexico seems like the perfect way to relax. Joe Buck, however, struggled to settle down.
“I show up, thinking I’m going to do yoga every day, I’m going to read two books, I’m not going to drink. I’m going to do nothing. I’m just going to heal myself.” Buck recounted on The Dan LeBatard Show. “I go down there, and, within eight minutes, I’m on the driving range drunk on tequila.”
Faced with his inability to relax, Buck decided to try something else. “I’ve never smoked pot, I’ve never eaten pot,” he continued. “I said, ‘I need to try this.’ So I ate a brownie at a dinner in Cabo.”
Buck didn’t notice a reaction, though, and ate more—totaling a brownie and a half—before heading to a bar. On the way there, everything changed.
“I’m trying to text somebody, and the letters start like flying off my phone, Buck explained. “We show up, there’s a bachelorette party going on, I’m scared. I’m frightened, and I’m avoiding them. I sit down, and I can’t feel my legs.”
That combined experience proved to be too much for Buck; he decided that he needed to leave and headed toward the exit. On the way to the car, though, things took a turn for the worst.
“I somehow magically get down the steps and to the exit,” Buck said. “I think we’re going to go right. [The driver, who was helping Buck] thinks we’re going to go left. He pulls me left as I go right. I pass out onto the ground, go under the rope with my head hanging off into the marina. I damn near died. I had a dream while I was down there.”
Needless to say, Joe Buck didn’t die. He did leave Mexico with quite a story, though.
