A new ride for 'Catman'

[bengaldee]

Fox chairman rewards on-air prank victim with truck


INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. (AP) -- Fox Sports apologized for an on-air practical joke Friday by awarding a Carolina Panthers fan a new pickup truck.

Fox Sports chairman David Hill personally presented a Ford F-150 to Greg Good, a well-known fan known as "Catman."

Late in the third quarter of Fox's telecast of the Miami-Carolina game on Aug. 24 in Charlotte, announcers Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston teased viewers that a fan would receive a car, saying it would give fans a reason to watch the waning minutes of a meaningless exhibition game.

Late in the fourth quarter, sideline analyst Tony Siragusa appeared on-screen standing near Good, a fixture at Panthers games who's known for wearing a blue wig and black and blue cape at each game.

"We're giving a car away to the No. 1 fan who actually stayed for the whole game," Siragusa said to Good.

Siragusa then handed him a white toy sports car.

But Good, who drives a 1991 Chevrolet Astro van with 130,000 miles on it, thought it was a replica of a real car he actually had won.

"Well, thank you. Thank you. It's a blessing and a prayer answered," Good said on air. "I needed a car so bad."

Siragusa then said he should get some oil and butter to squeeze into the toy car.

"I thought until the clock ran out that I was getting a car," Good said Friday. "I kind of figured it was a joke at the end of the game when no one walked over to my seat. I figured out then something was wrong."

After first being contacted by The Charlotte Observer, a Fox spokesman said they only offered an apology to Good for "any misunderstanding."

But after seeing the newspaper story Wednesday, Hill decided to arrange to get the truck for Good.

"The guys generally thought it was funny," Hill said. "There have been a number of extensive conversations with the people involved, and they have agreed that from now on they will do football. They'll leave comedy for the comedians.

"The only thing I could do was make good on the promise. So now Greg's got a car."

Fox arranged a driver to pick up Good at his job in Winston-Salem, where he works with emotionally disturbed children. They drove him to a suburban Charlotte Ford dealership, where Hill then gave him the keys to the black, four-door pickup with a sticker price of more than $33,000.

Hill insisted Fox paid the full price for the vehicle despite the fact Ford is a major sponsor of Fox's NFL telecasts.

"This is almost tricked-out. It's nice," said Good, who plans to drive the truck to the Panthers' season opener Sunday against Atlanta.

Good, 49, then presented Hill with a Catman bobblehead doll, ending the animosity for a joke gone bad.

"Our announcers have realized they're going to stick with football, and not try to do comedy," Hill said.

[CatScratchFever]

A number of years ago some lady sued a radio station for pulling the same kind of prank. They said the winner of the contest would get a Toyota, and actually gave her a "toy Yoda" action figure.


She won, and got her Corolla.

[Judge]

announcers are dicks sometimes, id kick there ass if that happened to me.