You may have seen a headline pinging about the World Wide Web on Friday, lauding the time sportscaster Bob Costas is said to have “chugged” a beer thrown to him by a fan while he was working the 2011 Belmont Stakes.
Costas, as usual, will anchor NBC’s Olympics coverage for the next two-plus weeks. The beer-chugging anecdote has been a bit of sports-fan lore for years, but it just got thrust back into the news cycle with the 2016 Olympics about to begin.
But is it true? An examination of the evidence produces controversial results.
Costas’ mysterious beer chug is in the news now because The Washington Post ran a pre-Olympics profile of him this week, in which the bit of lore is referenced.
“He is also a bit rebellious, self-deprecating and obnoxiously unflappable,” reads part of that article. “At the Belmont Stakes in 2011, someone threw a can of beer at him, and he caught it one-handed, opened it, chugged some, lobbed it back from the victory stand, and proceeded with his interview of the winning jockey and trainer.”
Bad-ass! This tidbit, of course, got picked up by other web outlets, which hyped Costas as a beer-chugging man’s man.
But wait! Did Costas really “chug” that beer, as the legend goes? Tweets from 2011 present conflicting reports.
Crowd at Belmont just tossed Bob Costas a beer and made him chug it. At 4’9″ he might be lit by the time he gets on air
Michael Murray (@MurrMann) June 11, 2011
Bob Costas catches beer from crowd and drinks a sip before going on air. A true SU alumni! #BELMONT
Babaganoushed (@Babaganoushed) June 11, 2011
Thankfully, Deadspin dove into the YouTube archives and dug up some footage of the supposed chug. Let’s take a look.
Here’s Costas catching the beer.
Here’s Costas opening the sudsy brew.
And here’s Costas drinking the beer or drinking from the beer, at least, before handing it to the women on his left.
That sip lasts for about as long as it takes me to say “one one-thousand.” Verdict: That’s no chug, bro; that’s a sip.
Now, remember: The Olympics will be running pretty much nonstop for the next two weeks. Costas will again be the face of American TV coverage.
Thus, it’s not inconceivable you’ll soon find yourself in the presence of a very self-serious sports fan who drops a knowing reference to the time Costas chugged a beer at the Belmont.
But now you, dear reader, are armed with the perfect #wellactually. Don’t say we never did anything for you.
Costas really did drink vodka on air once, though.
Source: http://allofbeer.com/the-curious-case-of-bob-costas-shrinking-belmont-beer-chug/
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