When most folks land on the wrong side of a bet they lose money, but one BBC broadcaster lost some of his dignity after betting on how little faith he had in one soccer team. Gary Lineker, who hosts the soccer highlight show Match of the Day for BBC Sport, will likely go a lot easier on himself the next time he agrees to the terms of a bet. Take a look.
This clip of Gary Lineker's semi-nude appearance on his broadcast was posted to the BBC Sport YouTube page, and, for good reason. The season premiere of Match of the Day on Saturday saw Lineker fulfill his promise to viewers that he would host the first episode of the new season in his "undies" if underdogs Leicester City actually managed to win the English Premier League. He pledged to host sans pants on Twitter in December, and it's good to see that Lineker is a man of his word. Though, it should be noted that some fans feel he didn't quite fulfill the terms of the deal, seeing as how he only hosted the first part of the show in his underwear and neglected to wear something, uh...skimpier on the day in question. Really, there's just no pleasing some people. Can't we let the man hold on to a scrap of his dignity, folks?
Even though Gary Lineker, who is, himself, a former professional soccer player, admitted on his Twitter feed Saturday that the experience was "strangely terrifying," he was clearly a good sport about keeping his promise to fans of Match of the Day. He retweeted several posts that were made in anticipation of his almost naked hosting duties and even teased the event on his Instagram feed by showing a photo of the pile of clothes he wouldn't be needing for his job that day.
There are two things about this video that really make me smile, and, no, I'm not counting Gary Lineker's body, you perverts. First, I love that he gets through this whole opening without either laughing at himself or talking at all about the fact that he's in his underpants. Really, the best impact for something like this comes when you just don't talk about the obvious elephant in the room. Lineker just does his job and pretends like the almost nudity isn't happening. Second, you got a good look at his co-panelists behind him, right? They almost can't stand how silly this all is, and it's perfect. The guy on the right is trying to control his laughter so hard that he's actually fidgeting through most of the intro with a giant, ridiculous grin on his face.
This might be a perfect example of how sports can be entertaining for people who don't really like sports. A half naked former professional soccer player on TV is sure to make even the most diehard no-sports-allowed person sit up and take notice. So, if your significant other suddenly wants to watch ESPN with you, just know that you may have Gary Lineker and Match of the Day to thank for it.
