Last night Will Ferrell, maybe you remember him from such roles as Deangelo Vickers of The Office fame (maybe there are other ones too), was on site for the Bulls-Hornets game, as he’s apparently in the process of filming a movie called “Dog Fight” in New Orleans.
Ferrell wasn’t just there to take in a game though, as he announced both teams’ starting lineups prior to tip in exactly the way you’d imagine Will Ferrell announcing lineups for basketball teams: Zany, ridiculous commentary on each player that sometimes included a real-life tidbit Ferrell bounced a joke off of, and sometimes was just the kind of random statement that would make Brennan Huff proud (Warning: there’s a bad word in that clip).
Will Farrell’s Intro:
Quickly, based on their reactions, here are what these guys may have been thinking upon hearing their customized announcement from Ferrell:
Carlos Boozer – I demand to be taken more seriously than this.
Loul Deng – You know, if I lived in a more tropical climate than Chicago, rare birds and a pet dolphin sound pretty neat.
Joakim Noah – I’m going to laugh it off because you’re Ron Burgundy, but I’m not really a bad dancer, right?
Ronnie Brewer – Seriously? That’s it?
Derrick Rose – /considers statement. Yup.
Gustavo Ayon – Great, he took the easy way out.
Trevor Ariza – I have no idea what Bell Biv DeVoe is. Later, after a Google search: Oh, they sang “Poison?” Yeah, he was right then.
Emeka Okafor – No question about that.
Marco Belinelli – Okay, here comes some tacky Italian joke. /checks scoreboard for some reason. Wait, what? You can’t say those things, Ferrell! I’ve got family who won’t find this funny. I do find it a little too carb-y for my in-season diet, though.
Jarrett Jack – How did he find out about my fear of rodeo clowns? If one of you guys told him, I’m asking for a trade.
Ferrell does seem to be a fan of the league, as he is often seen at Lakers and Knicks games, so it’s not all that surprising to see him take part in something like this, especially with a movie on the horizon. But it’s a cool way to break up the fast-paced season with something a tad different, especially for New Orleans. I’d probably like to see what he could do with other teams’ starting fives as well, and more importantly, gauge the player reaction.
As for the Hornets, they probably should’ve seen if Ferrell could have stuck around to do color commentary or something, because there’s no other way people should have been asked to sit through last night’s brutal 90-67 loss.
Griffin Gotta contributes to The Hoop Doctors and is a co-managing editor of Straight Outta Vancouver. The story arcs and infinite weirdness of the NBA are addictions he deals with every day. Email him at griffingotta at gmail dot com.
