Boom Goes The Dynamite

2005catchphraseclassic

Boom Goes The Dynamite is a catchphrase from a 2005 college sportscast where Ball State University freshman Brian Collins lost his place in the teleprompter and improvised the line during a Pacers vs. Nets highlight. The clip hit eBaumsworld weeks later and became one of the earliest viral news bloopers of the YouTube era.

catchphrase memesaccidental fame memesearly internet memesfail memescampus memes

Overview

Boom Goes The Dynamite is a catchphrase pulled from a widely shared clip of an amateur student sportscaster fumbling through his first on-air segment 1. In the video, Ball State University freshman Brian Collins struggles to keep pace with a fast-scrolling teleprompter, then caps a Pacers vs. Nets highlight package with the flat, off-tempo line "and boom goes the dynamite" 2.

The appeal is the delivery. Collins reads with the stiff, deer-in-headlights cadence of someone who has completely lost the script, and the phrase itself arrives out of nowhere as a kind of verbal shrug 3. The clip became shorthand for either a dramatic payoff or, more often, a slow-motion trainwreck that ends anyway 4.

How It Spread

In early April 2005, a copy of the clip surfaced on eBaumsworld, reportedly uploaded by someone at the NewsWatch station 3. It spread from there to ESPN SportsCenter, Best Week Ever, and eventually a Family Guy gag that reused the line as a punchline during a Brian and Cleveland scene 4. Collins appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Early Show to talk about the segment 1.

That same April, Bonnie Graney, a sportswear seller from San Diego, filed a trademark application for the phrase with plans to print t-shirts 7. She emailed Collins in May 2005 offering a business partnership but never got a reply, and the trademark application was later abandoned 4. Comedy Central's Tosh.0 later gave Collins a "Web Redemption" segment revisiting the broadcast 6.

Collins graduated from Ball State in May 2008 with a telecommunications degree and, after a brief PetSmart job, was hired as a crime and metro reporter at KXXV, the ABC affiliate in Waco, Texas 1. He was let go around mid-2009 during budget cuts, wrote freelance for outlets including Examiner.com in early 2010, then took a web producer job in Cincinnati before joining KSAX in Alexandria, Minnesota 5.

How to Use This Meme

The phrase is typically dropped as a punchline after something dramatic, satisfying, or over-the-top happens, delivered flat and slightly off-key in imitation of Collins's original monotone read 8. Common usage includes sports moments, big tips at a restaurant, and any sudden payoff, and the line is often paired with a still of Collins mid-broadcast for reaction-image effect 4.

Frequently Asked Questions

Boom Goes The Dynamite

2005catchphraseclassic

Boom Goes The Dynamite is a catchphrase from a 2005 college sportscast where Ball State University freshman Brian Collins lost his place in the teleprompter and improvised the line during a Pacers vs. Nets highlight. The clip hit eBaumsworld weeks later and became one of the earliest viral news bloopers of the YouTube era.

catchphrase memes accidental fame memes early internet memes fail memes campus memes

Overview

Boom Goes The Dynamite is a catchphrase pulled from a widely shared clip of an amateur student sportscaster fumbling through his first on-air segment 1. In the video, Ball State University freshman Brian Collins struggles to keep pace with a fast-scrolling teleprompter, then caps a Pacers vs. Nets highlight package with the flat, off-tempo line "and boom goes the dynamite" 2.

The appeal is the delivery. Collins reads with the stiff, deer-in-headlights cadence of someone who has completely lost the script, and the phrase itself arrives out of nowhere as a kind of verbal shrug 3. The clip became shorthand for either a dramatic payoff or, more often, a slow-motion trainwreck that ends anyway 4.

How It Spread

In early April 2005, a copy of the clip surfaced on eBaumsworld, reportedly uploaded by someone at the NewsWatch station 3. It spread from there to ESPN SportsCenter, Best Week Ever, and eventually a Family Guy gag that reused the line as a punchline during a Brian and Cleveland scene 4. Collins appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Early Show to talk about the segment 1.

That same April, Bonnie Graney, a sportswear seller from San Diego, filed a trademark application for the phrase with plans to print t-shirts 7. She emailed Collins in May 2005 offering a business partnership but never got a reply, and the trademark application was later abandoned 4. Comedy Central's Tosh.0 later gave Collins a "Web Redemption" segment revisiting the broadcast 6.

Collins graduated from Ball State in May 2008 with a telecommunications degree and, after a brief PetSmart job, was hired as a crime and metro reporter at KXXV, the ABC affiliate in Waco, Texas 1. He was let go around mid-2009 during budget cuts, wrote freelance for outlets including Examiner.com in early 2010, then took a web producer job in Cincinnati before joining KSAX in Alexandria, Minnesota 5.

How to Use This Meme

The phrase is typically dropped as a punchline after something dramatic, satisfying, or over-the-top happens, delivered flat and slightly off-key in imitation of Collins's original monotone read 8. Common usage includes sports moments, big tips at a restaurant, and any sudden payoff, and the line is often paired with a still of Collins mid-broadcast for reaction-image effect 4.

Frequently Asked Questions