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
— Logiee (@ItsLogie) April 25, 2017
Someone needs to give Rebecca Lowe a pat on the back and a glass of water before she coughs up a lung! #PLonNBC @NBCSN #CHESOU
— Ruairi Lynch (@RuairiLynch9) April 25, 2017
Rebecca Lowe out 4-6 weeks with coughing fit #CHESOU
— Moment of Magic Pod (@magicmomentpod) April 25, 2017
Somebody get Rebecca Lowe a drink of water!
— Chelsea Chicago (@Chelsea_Chicago) April 25, 2017
Rebecca Lowe is slowly dying live on @NBCSN and I'm not ok with that. Hey @rogbennett get the lady some water! pic.twitter.com/mhWdirgeIr
— Paul Catrino Jr (@catrino93) April 25, 2017
.@MenInBlazers @kylemartino Please note: I'm boycotting the second half until someone at @NBCSports provides some sort of sign of life from Rebecca Lowe. Pls & thx.
— Sam's Army (@BarstoolSam) 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.
— Kyle Martino (@kylemartino) 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.