While it’s largely been retired, Cris Collinsworth has become well-known for The Slide during his time as a broadcaster. During Monday night’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys, he shared the story of how The Slide became a thing.
Collinsworth was a guest of Eli and Peyton Manning on the Manningcast. The broadcast showed several clips of Collinsworth’s slide while calling games his his former broadcast partner, Al Michaels. Collinsworth then explained the origins of it.
“Al’s got it in his contract that he’s the only guy on camera for the first minute of the broadcast,” Collinsworth said. “I don’t care. It’s less I gotta try and remember. I’m happy about it. So fine, I got no problem at all.”
Collinsworth then recalled sitting next to Michaels between two pieces of tape.
“He’s like, ‘Cris, Al’s gotta be the only one on. You gotta get out of the shot. I was like, ‘Well you put a piece of tape down for me to put my legs on either side of to do it. What do you want me to do? Have my legs around this piece of tape or do you want me to get out of the shot?’ And he goes, ‘Well just lean out of the shot.'”
Collinsworth then demonstrated what he meant, leaning far to his right, almost completely off of the camera before sliding back on.
“Literally every game we open the broadcast and I’m lying on the table over here like this while Al’s waxing poetic on the other side,” he said. “Then he gets through, he says, ‘Partner, come on in.’ And I go up like this.”
Cris Collinsworth explains the origins of The Slide.
“Al’s got it in his contract that he’s the only guy on camera for the first minute of the broadcast.”
“Literally every game we open the broadcast and I’m lying on the table over here like this while Al’s waxing poetic.” pic.twitter.com/XLGO48vOGZ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 10, 2024
That explains a lot.
Collinsworth then shared that he’s seen some of the tricks people have done with his slide.
“They started putting it in a World Cup bar and the winning goal was made and people would scream.”
“I don’t know what the heck happened but it made me famous,” he added. “So I’ll slide anytime anybody wants me to.”
[Photo Credit ESPN2]
