Just don’t change your name to Gerard, buddy, that’s all I ask. Baltimore Ravens announcer Gerry Sandusky found himself a person of national interest recently due to circumstances well beyond his control. As he explains to Esquire’s Peter Schrager, coping with cases of mistaken identity with grace and good humor is all well and good, and least until someone tweets, “You filthy son of a bitch.”
I met him super briefly. I was covering the Miami Hurricanes, and they were playing Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. We had a quick laugh, and I think we actually did a short segment for the newscast on how we had the same names, and how he had heard about me and I had heard about him. It was silly. Whatever.
John Harbaugh, he looked at me and said, “Man, this must be just awful for you.” They’re playing the Steelers in this game and he’s worried about me and my name.
Joe Flacco was funny last week. He came up to me and said something along the lines of, “That’s a tough break, Gerry. Tough break.” And he patted me on the back.
I was on the field before the game in Pittsburgh, the day after the news broke, and Dick Ebersol — the former head of NBC Sports, an absolute giant in my field — walks by. So, I extend my hand: “Hey, I’m Gerry Sandusky.” And I see him visibly flinch. Kind of a subtle flinch, but he definitely flinched. I see him thinking that I’m goofing around, so I say, awkwardly, “No relation.” He couldn’t get away from me fast enough.