WGN (Chicago) Anchors Melt Down After Missing Bridge Implosion

Sometimes, you think you’ve got a great live TV moment, and for whatever reason, it doesn’t materialize. Sadly for WGN 9 in Chicago, an attempt to get a live shot of a local bridge implosion turned in to such a moment – and they were none too happy.

The buildup had everything: the playing of Tom Petty’s “The Waiting,” a put-down of Good Morning America (one co-host guessed they were “doing yet another interview on osteoporosis, so you’re not missing anything”), and a reference to a time they showed someone dressed as a taco parachuting into a plastic pool filled with salsa. Then, they briefly cut away from the bridge to kill some time, after one person on set said, “The minute you turn from it, that’s when it’ll happen.” You can guess what happened then.

Of course, by the time they panned back to the bridge, it was already down. And then things got really crazy. Suffice to say, antics included throwing paper, eating paper, a wildly gesticulating co-anchor likening herself to “an angry troll,” put-downs of their own show (“this is a metaphor for our show;” “two implosions at the same time”), comical sound effects, and the playing of Beck’s “Loser.” In short…way, way better than if they’d shown the implosion successfully. Video of this fantastic segment below.

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