NBC soccer host Rebecca Lowe was preparing to read the English Premier League standings (or “table,” as we’re supposed to call it) at halftime of Tuesday’s Chelsea-Southampton game when she began to cough. Like a true pro, she attempted to choke out something about Chelsea being up by seven points, even as she continued to cough.
At last, colleague Kyle Martino mercifully interjected, “Let me take it from here, because you need to drink some water.” Lowe must have then taken off her microphone because her violent coughing was no longer audible.
Lowe did not return to the air during halftime, leaving a lot of viewers very concerned about her well-being.
Umm…Is Rebecca Lowe okay?! @NBCSportsSoccer #rebeccalowe
— Grant Catton (@GrantCatton) April 25, 2017
Rebecca Lowe is coughing her lungs out. Je suis Rebecca.
— Zito (@_Zeets) April 25, 2017
REBECCA LOWE DONT DIE ON US
— Logan (@ItsLogie) April 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/RuairiLynch9/status/856956885802651648
https://twitter.com/magicmomentpod/status/856955554987728896
Somebody get Rebecca Lowe a drink of water!
— Chelsea Chicago (@Chelsea_Chicago) April 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/catrino93/status/856956028738555904
Please note: I'm boycotting the second half until someone at @NBCSports provides some sort of sign of life from Rebecca Lowe. Pls & thx.
— Samuel Army (@thesamuelarmy) April 25, 2017
Minutes later, Martino tweeted that Lowe was “alive and well,” allowing all concerned viewers to breathe easily—just as Lowe was hopefully doing during the second half, with a big glass of water in hand.
Rebecca Lowe is alive and well.
— Over Under Initiative (@OverUnderPlay) April 25, 2017
Once the Chelsea-Southampton game was over, Lowe returned to the air with a clear throat.
Lowe is one of the most universally liked people in sports media. She’s so well-liked, in fact, that we could not find even one tweet expressing any schadenfreude at her coughing fit. And given how people on Twitter usually feel about sports media members, that’s really saying something.
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.