Dan Orlovsky was legitimately pissed he lost Sports Emmy to Charles Barkley

NFL Live won a Sports Emmy. Dan Orlovsky did not. And he wasn’t happy about it.

The ESPN analyst, who just re-upped with the network for another four years, thought this was his year. Thought he had it. Thought the trophy had his name on it. Then, Charles Barkley won.

Orlovsky, appearing on SI Media with Jimmy Traina, didn’t even try to hide how much it bothered him.

“Of course I was [furious],” he said. “I really believe that I’ve had a strong run here. I really believe that I’ve separated myself. I take pride in that. And I know who I was going up against — the greats of the great. And so I was like, I feel very confident about analyst. I really did.”

In addition to Barkley, Orlovsky was up against Nate Burleson, Ryan Clark, and Kirk Herbstreit. But he was confident. He’s one of the best football analysts that the Worldwide Leader has to offer. Why wouldn’t he be?

“And when Charles won, I texted him. I have no business having Charles Barkley’s number, by the way, but I do,” said Orlovsky, who absolutely wasn’t bragging. “So I texted him, and I said something along the lines of ‘Will you stop winning?’ And he responded back with a ‘[Laughing emoji face]; you know it’s a team effort.’ And so, that one bothered me.”

Orlovsky walked Traina through the events of the night. When the Emmy invites went out, he was adamant he wasn’t going. He didn’t think he’d win, and more than that, he didn’t want to sit through a three-hour ceremony just to leave empty-handed.  But ESPN nudged him. So did his wife. Eventually, he gave in.

First, he lost the VR category. Then Barkley took home the studio analyst award. And at that point, Orlovsky was cooked.

“I turned to my wife like a child,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘I want to go home.’”

He figured there was no shot ESPN would win back-to-back awards, especially after College GameDay picked up the penultimate trophy. But then NFL Live won. The final award of the night. And Orlovsky was stunned.

“I was thoroughly shocked,” he said. “But I thought analyst, I would have a chance. Again, I didn’t. I turned into a baby.”

Maybe it’s because he’s still relatively new to this business. Or perhaps it’s just that he hasn’t won a trophy since a college bowl game when he was 20 years old. Either way, he cares. A lot. About the show. About his craft. About the competition.

“What business do I have getting upset about losing to Charles Barkley and then texting him in the moment?” Orlovsky asked. “I’m a competitive human. I just am. I am a wildly intense and wildly competitive human.”