From the mouth of Buttons


Dick Button, ABC's sage announcer, often utter words
and phrases that are simply hilarious, and sometimes inspiring.

Here is a sampling:
  • (Of Kate Robinson) "Now, isn't she the quintessential pre-Raphaelite heroine?"

  • (After Kotin's long program at Calgary) "He has a wonderful kind of flair, very much in the style of the 19th century Romantic poet Byron might have been. He's kind of Byronic, isn't he?" The kicker: Jim McKay then said, "Yes, he is."

  • (Of Michelle Kwan, after '96 Worlds Free Skate) "She gave nothing up, nothing for this performance. Absolutely the best!"

  • (Of Nicole Bobek's wasted talent) "You just want to take her over your knee and spank her."

  • (During Rudy Galindo's '96 Worlds Free Skate) "And...oh boy!"

  • (Talking to Peggy Fleming about her absence commentating at the '98 Worlds) "Come back soon. Who's going to compliment the skaters after I'm done criticising them?"

  • "Puccini cries out for spirals...but really good ones." (Thanks Louis!!!)

  • (Of Michelle Kwan) "Oh, she popped her triple into a single and had trouble on her axel landing, but, WHO CARES?! Isn't she just wonderful?"

  • "There are three rules in skating/ice dancing: speed, speed, and speed."

  • (About Sarah Hughes) "She gets to use her leg like a pole vault, you can't play around with a long pole..."

  • (On a Tonya Harding spin at '93 Nationals) "It's a cross between a Hamill camel and a tipsy little skater."

  • (Regarding Alexei Urmanov's outfits) "Like the fashion-guru Diana Vreeland once said, 'A little bit of bad taste is like a splash of paprika.' "

  • (During the '96 Worlds Broadcast) "Peggy, will you marry me???"