STREETER LECKA/GETTY IMAGES
Exit
know what he meant ... but he
used to always say, ‘You connect,
man. You gotta stay with this.
You have a way of connecting
with people. Whether they agree
with you or disagree with you,
you connect. Your words, they hit
a button. That’s a gift that you
have.’ I didn’t know what he was
talking about until 1983,” recalled
Vitale. “I went to the Final Four,
my first Final Four ever as part
of ESPN, part of our team. Then
one day people were asking for
autographs, pictures. Oh, it was
unbelievable and I realized then,
as Scotty told me, that’s what he
SPORTS
means about connecting, man. It’s
given me an incredible life. So I’m
very blessed that I stayed with it
and very fortunate.”
LOUD BUT PROUD
As ESPN expanded its viewership, Vitale expanded the list of
acronyms and terms that have become his signature. There were
P.T.P.ers and M&Mers who could
turn a knee-knocker into a N.C.
(translation: primetime players
and mismatches who could turn a
knee-knock er into a no-contest). By
2000, ESPN.com produced a Vitale
glossary. With his relentless enthusiasm for the game, expanding lexicon of slang and the rising volume
of his Jersey-inflected voice, Vitale’s
HUFFINGTON
04.07.13
Surrounded
by Duke
fans, Vitale
reports from
the sidelines
before the
Duke Blue
Devils go up
against the
North Carolina
Tar Heels
in 2012.