After spending over five years in the industry, Sergio Dipp finally had his time to shine on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
Dipp, a communications graduate and an ESPN employee since 2013, appeared on the first night of Monday Night Football of the 2017-18 season as a sideline reporter. Unfortunately for Dipp, his 30-second sideline report will now forever live in internet history. Move over, “Boom goes the dynamite” man.
Here’s what you need to know about Dipp:
1. Dipp Appeared Extremely Nervous on Camera
The moment happened during the first quarter of the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos game September 11. Dipp was given the task of hyping up Broncos coach Vance Joseph, who was also making his regular-season debut.
The broadcast flashed to an eager Dipp on the sideline, who was set to deliver a 30-second background piece on the Denver coach. What transpired, though, is something that will live in internet lore and undoubtedly be played and replayed over and over again. Unfortunately for Dipp, he appeared extremely anxious, fumbling over his lines and sounding as if he was reading off of a teleprompter.
“Folks, it’s a pleasure to be with you guys, here, on the field, from up close just watching coach Vance Joseph from here, watch him now on the screen,” Dipp said as ESPN’s camera flashed to Joseph. “His diversity and his background is helping him a lot tonight. The quarterback at Colorado, defensive back in the NFL and here he is having the time of his life this night making his head coaching debut.”
2. Social Media Fell in Love with Dipp
Almost as soon as Dipp made his debut appearance on Monday Night Football, the internet found its newest hero. Memes were crafted almost instantaneously and numerous tweets called for more Dipp on peoples’ TVs and spread quickly on Twitter.
The fact the internet lost its minds over Dipp shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, though. This is the same internet that fell in love with Ken Bone, the man donning an innoncent red sweater who asked a question during a 2016 presidential debate.
3. Dipp Addressed the MNF Appearance on Twitter
A mere few minutes after he delivered his sideline report, Dipp took to Twitter to address his newfound fame. And he seemed to play along with the joke and his cringe-worthy performance.
First, he tweeted two emojis: a “peace” sign and a wink face.
A short while later, he posted a screenshot showing a Google search asking “how to deal with fame.”
On Tuesday, Dipp tweeted a video of him in his hotel room saying he was trying to “digest” what happened to him.
“It’s 9/11, I’m in Denver, Colrado and this is the NFL,” Dipp said. “A Monday Night Football game between the Broncos and the Chargers, the biggest stage possible.”
Dipp continued in the video saying he hopes he has another chance to make up for the MNF report.
“All I wanted to do was to show some respect, making my debut as a minority on American national TV, the biggest stage out there on the most heartfelt day in this great country made up by immigrants and on some people’s perspective, it all went wrong,” Dipp said. “But I truly meant no disrespect because all I wanted to do was to show some love to these two historical head coaches. Hopefully, I’ll have another chance, and be sure I’ll make the most of it.”
4. Dipp Started Working for ESPN in 2013
According to his LinkedIn account, Dipp is a 29-year-old native of Mexico and started working in sports media in 2009 for the sports section of La Aficion in Milenio Television. In 2013, he was hired at ESPN and has since been a frequenter on international coverage of the NFL’s Super Bowls and some NBA All-Star Games. He was also the commentator of the Mexican men’s national soccer team during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Last year, ESPN announced that Dipp was part of a new configuration of hosts on ESPN Deportes and ESPN in Mexico and Central America’s SportsCenter.
“The new daytime show, produced from ESPN’s studios in Mexico, will be the first SportsCenter edition of the day, introducing a dynamic format with greater emphasis on analysis and discussion,” a press release said. “It will showcase the top news from the previous night and preview what’s coming throughout the day.”
Dipp anchored the show alongside Cristina Alexander. In doing so, he became one of the network’s youngest commentators. In addition to that role, he also contributed on the ESPN in Mexico shows Hot Soccer and Initial Touch.
5. Dipp Majored in Communications at a Mexican College
Social media accounts indicate that Dipp attended from Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico and graduated with a degree in communications.
In 2016, Dipp was part of the SportsCenter Deportes team that won a Sports Emmy award for on-air talent in Spanish.
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Sergio Dipp: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know