Ref In First Responder Bowl Has Hilarious Gaffe On Hot Mic And College Football Sickos Thankfully Took Notice

You're certainly not alone if the First Responder Bowl between Rice and Texas State didn't grab your attention while you were aimlessly searching for something to watch on Tuesday night, but believe it or not, the game had plenty of great moments.

Not only did Texas State win the contest in what was the program's first-ever bowl game, but fans who traveled to Dallas for the game drank the place dry before the midway point of the third quarter.

While it was a party inside the stadium, fans tuning into the game were also gifted a little treat in the form of a referee screaming a curse word on his hot mic for the entire world to hear.

During the third quarter, ref Ed Ardito turned on his mic to announce a Texas State timeout that he originally explained was a 30-second timeout. After quickly realizing it was actually a full media timeout, he could be heard shouting "Damnit!" on the mic.

Ardito wasn't done there. After his electric "damnit" call, he had to correct a penalty announcement in the fourth quarter. During his announcement of what were offsetting penalties, Ardito decided to go the long route and make sure every detail was delivered while looking exhausted doing so.

No offense to Texas State or Rice, but thank goodness we have college football sickos out there who were actually watching the game into the third quarter so we were able to meet the legendary Mr. Ardito.

Rice hung with Texas State during the first half as the game was knotted at 21-21, but the Bobcats ultimately ran away with the game by scoring 24 unanswered points.

Follow Mark Harris on X @itismarkharris