An ESPN Sideline Reporter Had A Rough ‘Monday Night Football’ Debut, But He Handled It Perfectly


ESPN’s Monday Night Football is back this week. As is usually the case for the first Monday night of the year, ESPN is broadcasting two games. One gets its main broadcast team, the other gets a different group. This year, Sean McDonough and Jon Gruden were in Minnesota for the early matchup between the Vikings and the Saints.

The late game was a unique pairing: Longtime college football broadcaster Beth Mowins became the first woman to broadcast an NFL game since 1987, and her partner in the booth is former Jets and Bills coach Rex Ryan. It’s a unique pairing, one that has an additional twist in the form of ESPN Deportes reporter Sergio Dipp on the sideline.

Dipp is a Mexican journalist who, according to his bio, has covered the NFL, NBA, and Olympics in the past. He also became a minor internet sensation thanks to this sideline report he filed in the first quarter.

https://twitter.com/xmasape/status/907438704242896899

Sure, it was a bit choppy, but Dipp was speaking his second language and was also on national television on the sidelines of a Monday Night Football game, so this absolutely gets a pass. Well, except for the reactions from Twitter, which had a ton of fun after Dipp went off the air.

https://twitter.com/realprinceblue/status/907452899525058560

https://twitter.com/LacesOutShow/status/907441165707960320

But a funny thing happened while all of this was happening: Dipp became totally aware of the jokes about his performance, and he decided to completely own it all.

Additionally, Dipp received praise from a number of folks who understand how difficult doing this is.

And because everyone loves a good comeback story, Dipp started to feel the love from people who want him to get on television more often.

https://twitter.com/TheWhite_Kite/status/907436351724900352

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/907444392478121984

https://twitter.com/TroutManrammer/status/907438584227131392

Getting on live television and doing a sideline reporter’s job is a lot tougher than it looks, and sure, Dipp’s debut on Monday Night Football wasn’t perfect. But seeing as how he embraced the moment and seems to legitimately love the game of football, hopefully he keeps getting more chances at this down the road.