Not every college football or NFL game is sunshine and rainbows for longtime commentator Kirk Herbstreit. During a recent podcast appearance, Herbstreit admitted that this past weekend’s game between LSU and Ole Miss offered a rather scary moment for him.
Appearing on Nonstop with Joey Galloway, Herbstreit admitted that he’s “a little claustrophobic” and his fear of tight spaces got triggered during an elevator ride at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. He entered the narrow elevator with his son and a security aide, which included a ride up the old elevator that was a lot longer than he expected.
“It’s an old elevator. It’s a little small. I’m a little claustrophobic,” Herbstreit said. “But you know what, we’re going to go from ground level to the booth. Just breathe. You can get through it. It’s going to take eight seconds, right?”
As the ride progressed, the elevator lost power. Over the next couple of minutes, he started to have trouble keeping it together and said he had to do his best not to let his son know he was freaking out.
“I’m breathing like that, trying not to let my son know I am in a bit of a pickle mentally right now,” he admitted.
Ultimately, his security aide was able to pry the doors open, but they found that they were in between floors with a 4.5-foot drop to solid ground. The aide helped everyone out before the doors slammed shut again.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Fans weigh in
There was plenty of sympathy for Herbstreit, especially from fans who also have claustrophobia. Some had jokes while others had advice:
“First thing you need to do is establish a pee corner,” one user on TikTok declared.
“I’m having a panic attack just watching this,” wrote another.
“That is my biggest fear! I have walked up 26 flights of stairs before lol,” a third wrote.
Thank goodness he avoided a full-on panic attack.
