Philadelphia Phillies star Aaron Nola has built a reputation for his stady composurel on the mound. Even the best pitchers cannot anticipate everything. Following a six scoreless innings in a victory over the New York Mets, Nola entered his post-game press conferencem only to have the interview take a hilarious turn thanks to a fart.
The instant, caught live and made available to many on social media, was soon circulating widely throughout baseball circles. Although Nola was able to maintain his composure, the chuckles of teammates and the press served to highlight just how uncommon and humorous this unexpected moments can be.
The clubhouse echo
As Nola explained his pitch mix and approach against the Mets lineup, the sound rang out clearly on camera. A few players in the background visibly broke into laughs. Online, fans wasted no time making jokes. One said: “Who let the Mets offense sneak into the Phillies clubhouse?” Another wrote: “I’ve been laughing for seven minutes straight,” proving how fans took this moments as a funny interaction.
For Nola, the encounter provided a bit of humor in a workday evening. The veteran right-hander has led Philadelphia’s playoff aspirations, and his own stoic response after the fart only served to underscore his way of handling pressure, even in a funny moment like this one.
Logan Webb’s similar situation
Nola is far from being the first to have their interview cut short by a noisy surprise. Earlier this year, in February, San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb found himself in the same position as another fart ended his press conference. Webb was unable to help but laugh and broke off mid-sentence to inform the reporters: “Farts are always funny, not gonna lie.”
That clip was a hit for being funny and for his honesty in his statement, making his response change an uncomfortable scene to a box office hit. Today, with Nola’s experience added to the ecuation, baseball enthusiasts are comparing the two pitchers and cheering the humanity they both dealt with those spontaneous moments.
Humor in the locker room
Clubhouses in Major League Baseball have traditionally been incubators for humor. Under too many travels, high-pressure games, and incessant focus of media scrutiny, players will sometimes turn to laughable moments to defuse tension.
Sports psychologists also cite that laughter can be employed as a team-building exercise, where players are psychologically eased after savage performances or even wins. For fans, these are moments they can identify with because they are humanizing the superstars, letting everyone know that they are normal people too.
A viral tradition in sports
Wierd interruptions of interviews are not baseball exclusives. From crying babies to malfunctioning microphones during questions, athletes across the word have experienced them all. Fart moments, however, last an amazing amount of time on the internet, maybe due to how the way society is and the fact that a little fart often comes with a smelly scent.
And as Logan Webb did, Nola reminded fans of a universal truth: no matter what the game is, there is always room for humor.
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