Scott Van Pelt unexpectedly played hurt on his SportsCenter show, as his voice was less than ideal throughout Thursday’s broadcast.
Van Pelt’s voice cracked, which got worse throughout the show, but Van Pelt toughed it out and finished the broadcast.
Here was the sign-off to the show. The SportsCenter equivalent to the Jordan flu game. Get well soon SVP. pic.twitter.com/52RlSlXPP8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2023
After the show, Van Pelt tweeted, “What a bizarre deal. Voice just kinda stopped working…while attempting to host a show. Not ideal, to say the least. Apologies for that mess.”
What a bizarre deal. Voice just kinda stopped working….while attempting to host a show. Not ideal, to say the least. Apologies for that mess.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) March 23, 2023
It’s great that Van Pelt demands perfection, but many people understood what he was going through, and he didn’t need to apologize. It’s live TV, and unexpected things happen on live TV.
Many in the media sympathized with Van Pelt, encouraging him and sharing that it’s happened to them.
Bro- I went through this a couple times and it’s frustrating as hell. You fought the good fight. @golic once told me to suck on pineapple. The juice helps. Got me through a few 3 hour morning shows.
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) March 23, 2023
I've been there before! You handled it well.
— Rᴏɴ Tᴇʀʀᴇʟʟ (@RonTerrell) March 23, 2023
You’re human. Give yourself grace. Great show as always!
— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) March 23, 2023
Happened to me a couple months ago. Completely lost my voice for 2 whole weeks. Rest up and hope you feel better soon. Big fan of your work ??. https://t.co/bLmj36jNfc
— Brian Jackson (@BrianJacksonTV) March 23, 2023
Me two weeks ago. A tough go. https://t.co/PRuDeIFYUK
— Tony Atkins (@TonyAtkinsTV) March 23, 2023
I see u pushin through it big homie @notthefakeSVP pic.twitter.com/nqo4t4gx0q
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) March 23, 2023
While I’m sure Van Pelt isn’t thrilled about his voice cracking, something like this shows the appeal of live TV. It’s great that most nationally broadcast studio shows operate like well-oiled machines these days, but it stops having a “live” feeling after a while. When something like this happens, and the host rolls through the punches as great as Van Pelt did, it shows the spontaneity of live TV that is sometimes missing.
If Van Pelt decides to work Friday, hopefully, he will have someone like Lou Duva in his corner getting him tea during commercial breaks.
Take care, Scott. Get that voice at 100%.
