All week long, FOX29 has let "Good Day Philadelphia" anchor Mike Jerrick roam free in the streets of New Orleans for the station's coverage of the Eagles' trip to Super Bowl LIX. And to the surprise of no one in Philly, the unfiltered TV news veteran has unlocked his peak form in the run-up to Sunday's game.
Jerrick, 74, has been out partying and making friends alongside co-host Alex Holley, who seems to recognize there's no hope of taming the beast in this terrain. Among the bevy of "Good Day Philadelphia" clips circulating on social media, one shows Jerrick emerging from Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter at 5 a.m. with three women at his side, a collection of Mardi Gras beads around his neck, and a hand grenade cocktail and beignet in tow. Holley is live on camera as Jerrick wobbles into the broadcast.
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And yes, Snoop Dogg reposted the clip for his 87.9 million followers to see.
"New Orleans is something, isn't it?" Jerrick asks Holley.
In another clip from Monday's show, Jerrick crashed a live broadcast from WDAF-TV in Kansas City. He told the station's anchor, Abby Eden, that his 10-time Emmy Award winning career began in Kansas City and then shook his beads in her face.
Holley got so tired of watching Jerrick let loose that she crowd surfed with a bunch of Eagles fans at a bar. Jerrick stood by and shouted, "Go Birds!"
On Radio Row in New Orleans, Jerrick's antics created enough social media buzz that NFL players in town and other media members took notice. Van Latham, who hosts the Ringer's "Higher Learning" podcast, seemed pleased that Jerrick's hijinks in New Orleans are reaching an audience outside Philly. Latham knows Jerrick from his former appearances in segments on "Good Day Philadelphia."
"Mike — coolest white man in America," Latham said.
When told he had become a sensation during Super Bowl media week, Jerrick reflected on the long arc of his career. Highlights have included Jerrick guzzling crickets from a jar with Dr. Oz, getting suspended for saying on air that Kellyanne Conway is "good at bull****," being chided by John Oliver for showing a lascivious streak on International Women's Day, and caring so little about it years later, on World Naked Gardening Day, that he said he'd "like to see the hoes — and the rakes."
"It has been remarkable, yes," Jerrick said of his time in New Orleans. "After my long, long career, I end up on TikTok."
If the Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night — look out, New Orleans. And good luck, Alex Holley.
