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The legend of "Boom goes the dynamite!"

Friday, June 10, 2005

When Ball State's student-run television "NewsLink@9's" regular sports anchors were unavailable March 22, freshman Brian Collins volunteered to fill in. Collins, anchoring for the first time, stumbled through his report, mispronounced names and froze multiple times before bellowing, "Boom goes the dynamite!", according to the INDIANAPOLIS STAR

A few days later, the newscast began to circulate over the Internet, becoming one of the most viewed clips of the month, according to www.ebaumsworld.com, a humor Web site.

Collins became the source of ridicule and his phrase "Boom goes the dynamite," soon became a hot item, finding its way into sports columns, T-shirts on eBay and ESPN's "SportsCenter" when anchor Scott Van Pelt interjected Collins' line during a highlight.

Representatives for late night talk show host and Ball State alumnus David Letterman e-mailed "NewsLink@9," asking for a raw copy of the videotape and invited Collins to appear on Thursday night's show, where he participated in the "Audience Show & Tell" segment.

Since struggling with the newscast, Collins has continued to work for "NewsLink@9," putting together 90-second segments in which he asks students various questions.