GQ Sports just dropped an oral history of Brian Windhorst's infamous "What's going on in Utah?" performance on First Take. And why not? Windhorst created a television moment that will live on forever and a meme so good that we immortalized it with a vaunted Sports Media Award.
The entire piece is worth your time, but I'd be remiss if I didn't hone in on the weirdest part of the entire story and aggregate it because who doesn't like some good chair chatter? Here's Windhorst praising the quality of chairs on the set of First Take. Via GQ Sports:
Windhorst: The chairs on First Take are very, very good. In that particular moment, I leaned back because that chair is a great chair. You would never normally lean back, and so when I leaned back as part of the storytelling, I made gestures that I normally wouldn't. That just happened in the moment, but those are the best chairs. Stephen A. has rigorous chair requirements, and he is rewarded with spectacular, spectacular chairs on that desk.
To that whole finger thing—it wasn't the finger, it was the chair. Nobody respects the chair.
So many interesting details in there. Not just that the chairs are good, but that they are versatile and allow you to do things with your hands most people wouldn't dream of. And it's all because of Stephen A. Smith. The man loves a good chair. Has very high chair standards and ESPN rewards him with chairs that satisfy his high standards. And finally - people need to respect the chair. The very good, great, best, spectacular chair you can imagine.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as Brian Windhorst Credits Stephen A. Smith's High Standards For 'First Take''s Great Chairs.
