Less than a month ago, Sergio Dipp made his debut on ESPN during a Monday Night Football game between the Broncos and the Chargers. And it was quite a memorable debut. Dipp gained national attention on Sept. 11 for his “awkward first quarter report on Broncos head coach Vance Joseph ‘having the time of his life,’” writes Sports Illustrated.
The report went viral and Dipp not only became a meme, but was also a trending topic on Twitter that night.
Dipp spoke to Sports Illustrated On the phone from Mexico City three weeks after his debut. He and his family were luckily unhurt during Mexico’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which caused more than 200 deaths in Mexico City.
Dipp flew back to Mexico City after his Monday Night Football assignment for an English-speaking audience, writes Sports Illustrated. He has been working in sports media for 10 years.
So what does he think of his internet fame? Dipp told Sports Illustrated that he always believes things will go the way they are supposed to go and that “everything happens for a reason” and that he always remains positive in “all aspects of my life.” He told Sports Illustrated that he does not think the attention had anything to do with his ethnicity, but more because he was a new face and new voice.
Dipp said he first noticed what was going on when he looked at his phone during a commercial break in the first quarter after his live report. He saw that he had a lot of new Twitter followers, so he tweeted out to let them know he was aware of what was going on.
✌?
— Sergio Dipp (@SergioADippW) September 12, 2017
According to Sports Illustrated, after the game, he sent out a more somber video, because he wanted people to know more about him.
Thank you…
And God bless America.??✔️ pic.twitter.com/mYXwBNFB6g
— Sergio Dipp (@SergioADippW) September 12, 2017
Sports Illustrated writes that Dipp’s comments were quickly forgotten in the fast-paced news cycle, but the magazine was curious as to why Dipp was not given the chance to “reshape some of the narrative that we saw on social media” during the game. Tim Corrigan, the producer for the game as well as the producer of ESPN’s exceptional NBA Finals coverage, said that he “felt for” Dipp because he clearly just wanted to do a good job.
“In live television, anyone can have a difficult moment—reporters, producers, etc. It happens and he handled it with class. Sergio and I met after the game and discussed what went well and where there is opportunity for improvement. He’s a talented guy with a bright future,” Corrigan said to Sports Illustrated.
Dipp is assigned to report the English-speaking ESPN for the Patriots-Raiders game in Mexico City on Nov. 19.
Watch Sergio’s viral debut below.
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