Bob Costas Is An Unflappable, Beer-Chugging Ninja
By Ty Duffy
The Olympics are happening. The Washington Post’s lifestyle section profiled Bob Costas. The profile contains this anecdote from when someone threw a beer can at Bob Costas during the 2011 Belmont Stakes.
"Bob is not omniscient. But he is a quick study and a sports encyclopedia. He is also a bit rebellious, self-deprecating and obnoxiously unflappable. 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."
Catching a beer can flung at you one-handed is hard enough. Compounding the difficulty is that weather conditions on the day were suboptimal. This feat comes from the same vein of fortitude that saw him battle through an eye infection and slam a shot of vodka on air in Sochi.
Anecdotes like this explain why Costas is so widely respected by his colleagues and why he can pop his collar with impunity.