Children aren’t the only ones allowed to dress up for Halloween. Grown ups often mimic their idols on the annual holiday … even when they are at work and, in the case of Paul Gerke, on the news.
Gerke is the sports anchor for Boise’s KIVI Channel 6 in Idaho. And last night, as shared by Deadspin, he did his sports cast in character as Ron Burgundy from the Anchorman films. From the moment he begins his segment picking his teeth and discussing the ribs he ate, it’s pure local-news gold.
It’s not just that Gerke repeatedly gets that up-and-down cadence of Will Ferrell’s clueless Burgundy character. It’s the boisterous, head-up-his-rear line delivery (and the shameless Dodge Durango commercial he drops in the middle of his segment) that sell the impersonation. I love how his network colleagues crack up in the background. This dude crams a ton of Anchorman references into a 5-minute clip. "Don’t act like you’re not impressed!" Gerke scolds. I’m beyond impressed, sir.
It’s a timely joke, obviously. The "real: Ron Burgundy and his news team will be back in action in a few weeks when Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues opens. And if you want to compare Gerke’s impression to the real deal, here’s the latest Anchorman trailer.
Wisely, Gerke didn’t get quite as racist or sexist as Ferrell dares to go when in character as America’s favorite newscaster. Because then, when the boss came into the room in the Boise station, he likely would have been handed his pink slip and shown the door.
Ferrell, as you might have known, is beloved by athletes because of his various sports personas, from Ricky Bobby to Chazz Michael Michaels in Blades of Glory. Sometimes, pro athletes even impersonate Ferrell’s Anchorman character during player introductions on Monday Night Football!
So while Gerke isn’t breaking new ground, he still gets all of the bonus points for staying in character, for shoehorning in great Anchorman references, and for taking a standard Boise sports report to the next level … just like Ron Burgundy preaches!
