WRBL's Jack Patterson goes viral

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — A tweet by a weekend sports anchor/reporter for WRBL in Columbus, Georgia has gone viral in the biggest way.

As I recorded my standup for my LSU-Alabama wrap, @MartySmithESPN gave some advice & encouragement. I'm a big fan of his dating back to his NASCAR days, but this was next level. To quote him, "Be kind. Work hard. The rest takes care of itself." Words to live by. Thank you man. 💯 pic.twitter.com/niiE3rJtDW
— Jack Patterson (@JPattersonTV) November 12, 2019

Jack Patterson was wrapping up his work inside Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday night when he was doing a standup. He messed up during the end and aborted it.

As that happened, ESPN reporter Marty Smith was walking by, on his way out of the stadium after the Alabama-LSU game. Smith took time to encourage Patterson, who started his job as a reporter at WRBL on Oct. 5 after working behind the scenes at the station for six years.

“The hardest part of our job is what you’re doing right now,” Smith told Patterson. “The taped standup, hate it. I hate them, man. It ain’t like when you’re live, you kind of mess up, whatever, you just keep on digging. This thing you want to be just perfect. I can’t stand them.”

The whole exchange was caught by Patterson’s camera.

He cut it and posted to Twitter about 10:30 p.m. Monday night. It blew up instantly.

This is the best thing I’ve seen today. Very cool moment between two pros. Keep doing your thing Jack! ⭐️ ⭐️
— Matt Hasselbeck (@Hasselbeck) November 12, 2019

“I thought it would be something to cool,” Patterson said. “Marty Smith is a really cool dude. I had no idea it would explode like this.”

Had the pleasure of serving Marty while he was in town with SEC Nation. You’d have a hard time finding a more genuinely kind, nice man.
— Michael (currently on WoT ReRead #3) (@MikeyBigHead) November 12, 2019

By Wednesday morning, Patterson’s tweet had nearly 52,000 likes, 6,300 retweets and more than 2.3 million views.

this is the best. pic.twitter.com/z7BEmQZ9rX
— STICK T🦃 SP🦃RKS (@OhHerro) November 12, 2019

Patterson’s viral video ends with Smith taking a selfie with him. Smith parted by telling Patterson to “keep grinding.”

“Good luck Jack!” Fox Sports anchor Tim Brando posted. “Follow Marty’s advice and remember to keep all your dreams alive! Hard work and good humor and transparent like this will only strike a chord with those of INFLUENCE in your future. Godspeed.”

Good luck Jack! Follow Marty’s advise and remember to keep all your dreams alive! Hard work and good humor and transparent like this will only strike a chord with those of INFLUENCE in your future. Godspeed.🙏
— Tim Brando (@TimBrando) November 12, 2019

Patterson thinks a lot of the interest came because Smith took the time to help a younger guy and it’s just a good story.

I love the mouthed “Wow” at the end. Always great to see successful people take the time to help people who are trying to get to the next level. Good on you, @MartySmithESPN. A few seconds of your time not only made his day, but your words of encouragement can impact a career. pic.twitter.com/1EWXLzxH6M
— Nathan Crace, ASGCA (@lipouts) November 12, 2019

“I think chord it hits is there is so much negativity in the press,” Patterson said. “What Marty did was just fantastic. I am sure he didn’t expect it to blow up like it did. He just did it out of the kindness of his heart.”

Great stuff! Keep it up, Jack!

And Marty, happy to call you our friend. 👍
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 12, 2019

Even Patterson’s employer, WRBL, took time during their broadcast to recognize him.

Thank you to everyone for their overwhelming love and support of the last 24 hours, including my team at @wrblnews3! Here's the full breakdown that aired at the end of our 6pm show today. pic.twitter.com/h5NvuNJfqz
— Jack Patterson (@JPattersonTV) November 13, 2019