Hilariously Bad Interview Questions

[healingman]

I remember covering high school football games as a stringer/clerk reporter years ago (OK, so, like, 17-18 years ago?).

Anyway ... I'd run into something like this a lot.

Question: "Coach ... what type of defense did you guys see from said high school opponent tonight?"
Answer: "I don't know, lemme ask a sec. Coach, what'd you see?"
Coach No. 2: "Not sure coach. Hey coach, ya got an idea?"
Coach No. 3: "Nope coach, sure don't. What about you, coach?"
Coach No. 4: "Well I think from up in the press box it kinda looked like a 3-4 to me ... or something like that. That answer your question, coach?"
Head Coach: "Yeah coach, that's it. Thanks coach."

 

[PTSportsWriter]

prep football team loses game 35-0 in head coaches first year at this school.
Barely cracked 100 yards of total offense.

Reporter from the out of town paper asks coach
"So coach, how do you and your team feel after this game?"

Normally mild-mannered, polite and talkative coach, just went speechless and sort of twitched and uttered "Well, we feel so good we're going to have a damn party"

When said reporter just said "Sorry, That wasnt a good question."
Coach responded, "No it wasnt"

After she left, he and I just got a good laugh about the whole thing

Team went on to finish 1-9 this year and every game she wasnt at, that was my lead in question to coach everytime. I figured if the game was unenjoyable to watch (and for him to coach) we may as well get some laughs somewhere.

 

[Tom Petty]

Plus, I think that's a great quote and a humorous way to lead into the story.

great point, da man, great point.

 

[skippy05]

prep football team loses game 35-0 in head coaches first year at this school.
Barely cracked 100 yards of total offense.

Reporter from the out of town paper asks coach
"So coach, how do you and your team feel after this game?"

Normally mild-mannered, polite and talkative coach, just went speechless and sort of twitched and uttered "Well, we feel so good we're going to have a damn party"

When said reporter just said "Sorry, That wasnt a good question."
Coach responded, "No it wasnt"

After she left, he and I just got a good laugh about the whole thing

Team went on to finish 1-9 this year and every game she wasnt at, that was my lead in question to coach everytime. I figured if the game was unenjoyable to watch (and for him to coach) we may as well get some laughs somewhere.

One of the prep basketball teams I covered this year was very streaky and inconsistent. Good coach, good players, but they would get lazy on defense early and have to spend the rest of the game playing catch-up. After a streak of five games with almost the exact same results, he and I would joke that I could use the same quotes from the last couple of games. After one particularly bad game, he told me, "Just run the quote that I gave you after the Troy game...I think that fits pretty well...and throw an expletive in there, too."

 

[boots]

Worst question to coach;
"Coach, how pumped up were you guys for this game?"

 

[Bullwinkle]

This question came after prep team gets bounced in quarterfinals of state playoffs.

\"Does losing a game like this, when you were thisclose to winning, give you that much more motivation to come back next year?\"

\"Sure does, but I graduate in June.\"

 

[Running Bear]

Kid banks in a 40-foot shot to win the game at the buzzer. In the locker room, coach asks me who I want to talk to. Naturally, I ask for the guy who hits the game-winning shot. Kid comes up and I joke with him that I didn't hear him call bank on that. Kid is laughing.

Up comes the guy from our rival paper who is so well known for asking dumb questions one coach actually suggested letting me into the locker room immediately after the game, locking the door and having someone tell the guy everybody went home.

Anyway, other reporter: "So ... um ... was that your first shot of the game?"

Player: (looking a little puzzled) "Uh no, I scored 26 points."

Other reporter: "Well, why did you decide to take that particular shot?"

The player looks at the reporter, looks at me (I'm trying to contain my laughter) and walks away. About five minutes later, he comes over to me and apologizes for leaving, but said he had no idea what to say to that guy.

My all-time favorite, however, was a postgame radio interview with Kirby Puckett. The radio guy actually let me hear it:

Radio guy: "So, Kirby, from your spot in the dugout, did Murphy look like he was safe or out at the plate in the 8th inning?"

Puckett: "Murphy?"

Radio guy: "I'm sorry, I mean Griffin. From the dugout, did it look like Griffin was safe or out at the plate?"

Puckett: "From the dugout? Man, I was in center field ... how many beers have you had?"

 

[Jones]

This wasn't a bad question, but it was a hilarious one.

The Blue Jays had a Rule 5 pick named Dewayne Wise -- something like that -- that they had nursed along all year, not wanting to forfeit him back to the Reds. Was totally healthy, and the only thing he seemed to have going for him was his speed... This is important.

So, in order to keep the Reds from reclaiming this kid, but also to get him off their roster, the Blue Jays decided to remove a years-old pin from his foot, even though the pin wasn't bothering anybody, including Wise. This wound him up on the 60-day DL, as well as on crutches, the speed demon suddenly hobbling around the forking locker room like Tiny Tim. The team called it a "bunionectomy."

Anyway, cut to Jim Fregosi's presser. Rich Griffin of the Toronto Star, who was a wag if there ever was one, says, very seriously, "Jim, is this the worst bunionectomy you've ever seen?"

Fregosi just about choked on his smoke, knowing full well that the most shameless of jigs was up.

P.S.: Last I heard, Wise was in the Atlanta organization, probably still wondering why he has this hole in his damn foot.

 

[ZummoSports]

Kid banks in a 40-foot shot to win the game at the buzzer. In the locker room, coach asks me who I want to talk to. Naturally, I ask for the guy who hits the game-winning shot. Kid comes up and I joke with him that I didn't hear him call bank on that. Kid is laughing.

Up comes the guy from our rival paper who is so well known for asking dumb questions one coach actually suggested letting me into the locker room immediately after the game, locking the door and having someone tell the guy everybody went home.

Anyway, other reporter: "So ... um ... was that your first shot of the game?"

Player: (looking a little puzzled) "Uh no, I scored 26 points."

Other reporter: "Well, why did you decide to take that particular shot?"

The player looks at the reporter, looks at me (I'm trying to contain my laughter) and walks away. About five minutes later, he comes over to me and apologizes for leaving, but said he had no idea what to say to that guy.

My all-time favorite, however, was a postgame radio interview with Kirby Puckett. The radio guy actually let me hear it:

Radio guy: "So, Kirby, from your spot in the dugout, did Murphy look like he was safe or out at the plate in the 8th inning?"

Puckett: "Murphy?"

Radio guy: "I'm sorry, I mean Griffin. From the dugout, did it look like Griffin was safe or out at the plate?"

Puckett: "From the dugout? Man, I was in center field ... how many beers have you had?"

It makes you wonder how some of these people remain employed, or at the very least not laughed out of the profession.

 

[I'll never tell]

This was when I was a player in a post-game:

Last game of my junior year. We played a decent first half, then our star got in foul trouble and nothing was falling in the second. We only scored six points; the other team scored 20-something. Well, we rallied in the fourth and a shot rimmed out at the buzzer -- we lost by one.

NO shirt. I'm sitting next to my coach in the post-game, our star (the one missing in the second) is on the other side.

REPORTER: How critical was that second quarter?

We look at each other like WTF?

Coach (completely deadpan): Well let's see we score six [he starts counting on his fingers] and then we lose by one [counts on his fingers some more].
Do I need to take off my shoes?

 

[August West]

1995 u.s. open. byron black, a zimbabwean journeyman who went to usc, beats michael stich to advance to the quarterfinals. mind you, it's during all the o.j. hoopla.

for those that might not know him, byron black is probably now in his mid to later 30's.

during the post-match press conference, a reporter asks

Q. Were you a contemporary of O. J. Simpson or you were much after him?

BYRON BLACK: I think so.

here's the transcript http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=3001

if memory serves, i believe the question was asked by an american.

 

[Appgrad05]

After first round of NCAA Tournament, some kid asks UNC's Reyshawn Terry what he remembers about playing Michigan State in the 2005 Final Four. Terry gives a polite response, saying that he didn't play much in that game but blah-blah-blah ...
Roy Williams looks at Terry and asks if that was the game he scored in. Terry smiles, says yes, it was and Williams tells the reporters how Sean May found Terry cutting to the basket and he had a nice dunk.

Kid: "Judging by your reaction, you didn't score much that year did you?"
Terry looks at the guy in disbelief and can't say anything.
Roy: "Scored two more points than you did. That was a lousy question."