On March 22, 2005, Ball State freshman Brian Collins volunteered to anchor the “Newslink @ Nine” sportscast on the university television station after the regular anchor canceled.
The 19-year-old telecommunications major had never hosted a television broadcast before but figured it wouldn’t be too hard to read some copy, cover some highlights, and share some scores. Easy peasy.
However, in what would become known in communications classrooms nationwide as “The Collins Incident,” he made internet history instead.
When the inexperienced person working the teleprompter accidentally fast-forwarded the script, Collins turned to his pre-printed version for help, only to find that the pages were out of order. Powering through as best he could, the would-be broadcaster sounded stilted and confused with each new sentence, as if he was learning English as he went.
That’s what brought him to highlights of an NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets. While he struggled to communicate what he saw, there were long silences over clips of Reggie Miller shooting a three and Nets players responding in kind. Eventually, the highlights got to a clip of Pacers’ guard Fred Jones shooting a three-pointer. And then…magic.
20 YEARS AGO TODAY: “And boom goes the dynamite.”
A first quarter 3-pointer by Fred Jones ignites a viral catchphrase, and Vince Carter scores 33 PTS (13-21 FG) to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 98-91 win over the Indiana Pacers.
March 22, 2005.
💻 https://t.co/bpMP76qP22 pic.twitter.com/kx9KDB4882— NBA Cobwebs (@NBACobwebs) March 22, 2025
“Later he gets the rebound… passes it to the man… shoots it… and boom goes the dynamite.”
While Collins had hoped the awkward and painful broadcasting experience would disappear into the ether, someone uploaded it to the internet several days later, and the rest was history. The monotone and listless reading of “Boom Goes the Dynamite” catapulted Collins to viral fame at a time when that meant something, for better or worse.
The clip went far and wide, with SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt even using it himself in homage to Collins, whom he’d emailed with words of encouragement. “Boom Goes the Dynamite” also went mainstream with mentions by “Inside the NBA,” Brent Musberger, and “Family Guy,” to name a few.
Among many TV and radio appearances, Collins appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, himself a Ball State alum. And Fox Sports’ Best Damn Sports Show Period would go on to call it the No. 1 biggest “sports blooper” in all of televised sports reporting history.
The good news for Collins is that despite the initial disaster, he eventually found a career in broadcasting, working as a reporter for TV news stations in Texas, Ohio, and Minnesota. He also appeared on Tosh.0, explaining what had happened on the broadcast and how he dealt with the infamy.
So, it appears that Collins has made peace with his viral fame. It turns out that there’s life even after the dynamite goes boom.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.