The Loop
Kevin Harlan's amazing call of a fan running on the field recalls Peter Alliss and a streaker
If announcer Kevin Harlan wasn't already a household name, he became one this week with his call of a fan running onto the field in the fourth quarter of Monday night's 49ers-Rams game. When the fan was finally taken down by security, the Westwood One radio play-by-play man exclaimed, "They're treating him like he robbed a bank!" But it was Harlan treating the situation like the guy was trying to score the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl that made the moment an instant classic.
If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. And if you have, watch it again. You will not see a funnier clip today unless Tiger Woods releases a Ryder Cup music video.
People went nuts for Harlan, best known as being a longtime NBA on TNT announcer going nuts in the booth over the incident.
Tough to argue with that.
The broadcast protocol in these situations is to give as little attention to the person interrupting the sporting event as possible. But sometimes, announcers can't help themselves. It recalled Peter Alliss' famed commentary at the 1985 Open Championship when a male streaker ran onto the 18th green.
"What a big fuss about such a little thing," blurted the World Golf Hall of Famer.
That's gold! Unfortunately, we couldn't find a clip of that moment, but here's another video of Alliss providing his classic take on Nick Faldo's caddie walking off a yardage for him:
So why did Harlan make such a big fuss about this fan? It probably didn't hurt that he was in the midst of working a dreadful 28-0 win by the 49ers.
"That was the most exciting thing to happen tonight," Harlan said at the end.
Indeed, it was.