For reasons I’ll never know, Dickie V is one of ESPN’s most revered personalities and WGN, a Chicago television channel, somehow gets national carriage on DirectTV and Dish Network. Vitale’s longevity and euphoric enthusiasm after all these years at ESPN is one of America’s longest running Unsolved Mysteries along with DB Cooper, the 2 Pac and Biggie murders, and why Shaggy and Scooby Doo were always paired up when the gang broke into two investigative units.
The unthinkable happened earlier this week as Vitale was silenced after running into technical issues while doing a morning talk show appearance on WGN. I have to say after decades of hearing Vitale’s high volume assault, it was a strange sight to see him quiet, confused, and annoyed for such an extended period of time.
Vitale obviously doesn’t know he’s on the air at first. The WGN host’s solid Vitale impression and “I love Hooters!” comment probably didn’t help him gather his bearings. Vitale tries to recover by talking hoops but runs into more issues as he thinks he is talking to a Charlotte station and starts talking about Duke and UNC.
More confusion ensues as the morning show and Vitale try to confirm they’re actually linked up for about 30 seconds. The awkwardness is broken when Vitale slips back into character and manages to eek out the words, “Chicago, baby! Chicago! Great great city!”
I think no matter who this was, this clip would be entertaining. Given the flummoxed individual is the relentless Dick Vitale, it only adds to the entertainment factor of the clip. Vitale’s facial reactions to being greeted by an impersonation of himself, one that talks about his endorsement of Hooters, is absolutely priceless.
This is now the second time I’ve found myself enthralled with a WGN morning show clip. While this Vitale clip is awesome, I prefer a shirtless drunk/hungover Tracy Morgan as my WGN clip of choice.
(h/t Lost Lettermen)
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