Being a reporter at a live sporting event — especially a championship such as the NHL Stanley Cup Final, in Las Vegas of all places — will expose you to some interesting fans, but how you respond will separate you from the rest of your colleagues.
As you'll soon see, the response by CBS Miami reporter Samantha Rivera — who was on-set for Monday's finals matchup between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers — has set the bar.
Reporting live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Rivera begins her broadcasting spot by talking about the crowd and mentions the Golden Knights fans' excitement over the team's 7-2 win in Game 2.
Right after she says that, we almost see an example of fan excitement on display — but Rivera isn't going to allow that to happen.
Talking about Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, stiff-arming a fan trying to get on camera and getting into the highlights.
Quite the display of multitasking by Samantha Rivera of CBS Miami pic.twitter.com/yvP8C3V4BS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 6, 2023
At the 0:12 second mark in the video above, you can see Rivera stiff-arm a Golden Knights fan so perfectly that the fan's face never fully enters the TV frame. After pushing him aside, she gets back into position to review the game's highlights.
What. A. Stone. Cold. Professional.
After this video started making the rounds, Rivera took to Twitter to fill us in on her mindset.
Listen, I don?t give a damn what team you?re rooting for - get the hell out of my face when I?m working and respect that I?m here to do my job.
Excited to get back home to some classy #Panthers fans for game 3!! pic.twitter.com/iWDQl0Rtvv
— Samantha Rivera (@JSamanthaRivera) June 6, 2023
She tweets, "Listen, I don't give a damn what team you're rooting for — get the hell out of my face when I'm working and respect that I'm here to do my job."
"Excited to get back home to some classy #Panthers fans for game 3!!" she concluded.
The video she tweeted out of the incident has almost 10 million views, making her an overnight viral sensation. Some fans on Twitter have likened her to NFL running back and stiff-arm expert Derrick Henry. Even the actual NFL account said so:
Elite form, @JSamanthaRivera. ?
Reminded us of someone else. @KingHenry_2 https://t.co/ippOU3qzxP pic.twitter.com/ONBYJtNaAS
— NFL (@NFL) June 6, 2023
Some may say she reacted the way she did because she's a Florida-based reporter in Las Vegas. But let's be honest: It's pretty disrespectful to get into someone's personal space while they're trying to work. Sure, your team won, but relax.
The Golden Knights lead the Stanley Cup Final 2-0 and will play Game 3 on June 8 in Florida.
