After two years away, the beloved ESPN sports commentator Dick Vitale returned to the broadcasting booth at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum, the Associated Press reported.
Per the outlet, as Dick Vitale entered the stadium from a tunnel, the crowd burst into cheers and applause. Vitale, affectionately known as Dickie V received a standing ovation, nearly a minute long, and fought tears as he looked up into the stands on his first night back.
In a sweet post the following day, Dick Vitale, 85, shared a photo of his return, with tons of Clemson fans decked out in orange behind him — one holding a sign that read, “We missed you, Dickie V.”
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“It was … fanstastic for me to finally do what I love, talking basketball,” he wrote in the caption. “It was the best medicine I could have ever received. It was #awesomebaby.”
Vitale — who has dealt with four separate types of cancer diagnoses in the same number of years — shared the good news in late December that he is officially cancer-free.
“SANTA CLAUS came early as Dr Rick Brown called & said that my PET SCAN at 7 AM came back CLEAN OF CANCER !” Vitale posted on X on Dec. 12. “OMG thanks so much to ALL of YOU for your (prayers). Yes I’m cutting the nets down baby it’s my National Championship!”
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Vitale reported on his first game with ESPN in December of 1979, just months after the company launched in September of that year.
“It’s been a journey that’s exceeded any dream I ever had,” Vitale told ESPN in 2019. “I owe so much of my career to all the beautiful people at ESPN and the incredible college basketball fans.”