Ian Eagle is once again rising to the occasion during the NCAA Tournament.
The veteran broadcast Eagle went viral on Friday for the immortal line he dropped during Pitt’s win over Iowa State in the Round of 64. As Pitt guard Nelly Cummings drove to the rim and converted a contested lefty layup late in the second half, Eagle, handling play-by-play duties on TruTV, quipped, “Nelly finishes! It’s getting hot in here!”
"Cummings, the drive… NELLY FINISHES! IT'S GETTIN' HOT IN HERE!"- Ian Eagle 🏀🔥🎙️ pic.twitter.com/QAQOkcvd12
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 17, 2023
Eagle was, of course, referencing everyone’s favorite Band-Aided rapper Nelly and his 2002 hit “Hot In Herre.” Many on Twitter showed love to Eagle over the great line.
Ian Eagle is so good! https://t.co/2MomkX32Ff
— Jason McCourty (@JasonMcCourty) March 17, 2023
Pro’s pro who always has a clever one up his sleeve. https://t.co/COa9Ubz2bi
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownBills) March 17, 2023
Call of the year and it’s not close 😂 https://t.co/jZ1c4CGxjH
— J. J. Mastny (@JJMastny) March 17, 2023
Ian is the best there is. Period. Some others scream and try so hard with one liners and schticky gimmicks.. but it fails. Ian is genuine. https://t.co/YGEZ6p0Wbj
— Matt Dery (@DerySpeaks) March 17, 2023
Cummings, a graduate transfer, was only three years old when “Hot in Herre” came out. But he was certainly cooking on Friday with a team-high 13 points in a 59-41 Pitt win (where they also benefited from a big ISU goof).
As for the Emmy-winning announcer Eagle, that Nelly line now officially enters his personal Hall of Fame (which is already pretty darn stacked).
