Ken Rosenthal was trending on Twitter after the San Francisco Giants won the NLCS on Monday, and it was for a funny reason that typifies Internet humor.
It started raining heavily during the 9th inning of Game 7 between the Giants and Cardinals, to the point where there was speculation that the game would be delayed. The teams continued playing, and the rain kept pouring all the way through the postgame show.
In order to stay dry and to give a solid TV report, both FOX MLB reporters Erin Andrews and Ken Rosenthal used umbrellas while conducting postgame interviews. Andrews held her own umbrella while Rosenthal had someone else hold his. Having someone else hold the umbrella presented a cleaner shot on TV for Rosenthal, and it also allowed the player to be covered too. But instead of seeing it that way, Twitter users started cracking up thinking that this was one of Rosenthal’s special privileges as an accomplished reporter.
Rosenthal later found out how big of a deal his umbrella holder had become, and he was a good sport about the joke:
My kids told me I was trending on Twitter. I had no idea why. Then I saw the umbrella stuff. Hadn’t even thought about it!
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 23, 2012
And one other thing. @erinandrews is a pro. And I guess I’ll have to turn to her for “holding your own umbrella” lessons now!
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 23, 2012
Rosenthal even shouted out his umbrella holder — a guy by the name of Nate Goodyear on Twitter — who summarized the entire odd phenomenon perfectly:
Twitter summarized: man holds umbrella. Man under umbrella acknowledges. Man holding umbrella is then noticed by world. You people are nuts.
— Nate Goodyear (@thenategoodyear) October 23, 2012
Like I said in the headline, in the eyes of Twitter users, Ken Rosenthal’s umbrella holder was the real NLCS MVP.
Below are screenshots of the two reporters with their umbrellas for comparison:
