Mark Woodley is showing news viewers what happens “when you ask the sports guy to come in to cover a blizzard in the morning show.”
The KWWL sports anchor went viral after his live coverage of the blizzard-like conditions in Waterloo, Iowa, got over two million views on Twitter due to his candid remarks about being out in the negative-degree weather on Thursday.
“This is a really long show. Tune in for the next couple hours to watch me progressively get crankier and crankier,” he quipped on-air.
Woodley explained that he got tasked to do the early morning weather report hours before he regularly wakes up after the area’s sporting events got canceled due to the weather.
“What better time to ask the sports guy to come in about five hours earlier than he would normally wake up and go stand out in the wind and the snow and the cold and tell other people not to do the same?” he told viewers.
He added, “I didn’t realize that there was a 3:30 also in the morning — until today.”
As the broadcast continued, he shared that his coworker Clint got “the better end” of the assignment chasing a storm and told viewers, “I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news. The good news is that I can still feel my face right now. The bad news is I kind of wish I couldn’t.”
While he covered the weather for most of the early morning on Thursday, his coverage ended up getting him some new fans in people like Judd Apatow, David Cross, and NFL Network host Rich Eisen.
Apatow called the Iowa sportscaster a “legend,” while Cross retweeted the clip. Eisen shared the video in a tweet and wrote, “Proud of this TV work that just showed into my timeline. Well played, Mark.”
Woodley also got some praise from people in the local Iowa area.
Radio host Todd Brommelkamp shared the news video, writing, “You don’t get to be a 1-time Iowa Sportscaster of the Year by staying in your lane.”
Woodley shared Brommelkamp’s tweet on his own Twitter page, commenting, “This was my wife’s favorite so far. Good on you @ToddBrommelkamp!”
The network also shared a news story about Woodley’s segment to their website, writing in the piece, “No Woodley’s were harmed in the making of the morning newscast.”
