Today marks 17 years since one of the best (and one of the first) viral videos of all time was born. It’s hard to believe that much time has passed.
The original version of the video has amassed more than 28 million views, not including the remixes and all the other creative variations on YouTube and elsewhere. Every year around St. Patrick’s Day more and more people are introduced to the video — and the famous amateur sketch – for the first time.
A few years ago, Barstool Sports announced the video is the first-ever induction into its Internet Hall of Fame. Obviously a major honor.
Unfortunately, after all these years, we still don’t know where da gold at.
I’m forever linked to the iconic story because I’m one of the anchors who introduced it on camera. As a result, I’m peppered with questions about it several times a year. One question is often repeated: “Was that a real news story?” The answer is yes and no…
Here’s the annual edition of the backstory: It happened in 2006 when I was working at WPMI, the NBC affiliate in Mobile. It was covered as a real news story…at first. We heard reports of large crowds gathering in the Crichton community and police were being called out. We didn’t know WHY they were gathering. The way I remember it, we weren’t going out there to cover a Leprechaun sighting (that would have been a questionable decision). We were going out there to see why such large crowds were causing problems in the neighborhood. When our crew arrived, things sort of snowballed. People were looking up at a tree and saying there was a Leprechaun in it. A leprechaun. The WPMI crew started shooting video and that’s when the people of Crichton took over and turned this story into an internet sensation. The version all over the internet is actually the one that aired on WPMI’s morning newscast. The story’s debut came the previous night. For some reason, that one slipped right past the YouTubers. In the end, the now-legendary “amateur sketch” was auctioned off on eBay by WPMI and the proceeds donated to charity. I think it pulled in close to $1,000.
CafePress has a great merchandise selection.
The original story is below. Enjoy!