Bally Sports’ Joel Goldberg reflects on iconic Danny Duffy ‘bear suit’ interview
In a two-year span, the Royals had eight champagne-soaked celebrations following postseason series victories, a Wild Card win or playoff clinchers.
Ask most Royals fans what they remember from those joyous locker rooms, and two moments stand out.
First is Yordano Ventura after the 2015 American League Championship Series (“Ohhh Baby! We go to the World Serious again!”) and the Danny Duffy interview after the Royals clinched the AL Central title that year.
You know, the one in the bear suit.
Bally Sports Kansas City’s Joel Goldberg was the interviewer in both cases, and he recalled talking with Duffy that day and how it has become an iconic moment in Royals history.
“It’s chaos in there with all the champagne flying and it’s live TV, and so you’re just kind of moving from one guy to the next, you’re a little bit disoriented in there,” Goldberg said Thursday after Duffy was traded to the Dodgers. “And I just remember having the opportunity to interview Danny, and there he is in that bear suit. In my head I think I thought that I could ask him, sort of like an Oscars question ‘who are you wearing’ but I don’t think it came out like that.
“If you look back at it, he never actually said the exact words, ‘It’s a bear suit, Joel.’ But that’s what went viral that night on Twitter. That’s the expression everybody remembers.”
Yep, Duffy actually said: “A bear suit. I’m wearing a bear suit, Joel.”
But “It’s a bear suit, Joel” is the catchphrase fans remember, partly because it was put on coffee mugs and T-shirts, including one the Royals gave fans in 2018.
Heck, Royals pitcher Mike Minor was wearing one of the T-shirts during a postgame news conference on Monday.
At the time, Goldberg had no idea that the bear suit, which Duffy bought on Amazon after seeing on “Workaholics,” would be fondly remembered six years later.
“When you’re in that moment, you’re not thinking it’s anything that’s going to go viral,” Goldberg recalled. “I knew it was a good, fun interview. I mean, it was Danny, it was pure Danny. So, it’s not your standard interview, it was fun, it had personality, it was quirky. But that’s it, right? The night ends and I probably interviewed 12, 14 different people in there and I’m getting soaked and everybody’s having fun, and you know that’s one of the more unique and fun interviews and that’s it. And then it’s on Twitter and it’s on social media.
“This is no exaggeration: It’s possible that on any given day I’m walking at the ballpark somebody passes me and says, ‘It’s bear suit, Joel.’ It’s not every day but it can be any day. I was walking by someone on this recent home stand and somebody goes, ‘It’s a bear suit, Joel!’ And I didn’t flinch or even think twice about it. It’s just funny.”
Goldberg noted all the good things Duffy has done for the Royals and the community during 11 seasons in Kansas City.
That all meant more to Duffy than the bear suit, which Goldberg said was really about giving teammates a good laugh.
“I don’t think he wanted to seek that attention. And that is the story of Danny,” Goldberg said. “As loyal and dedicated of a teammate as anybody can have, but very aware of not trying to seek the spotlight, or overdo it. So, I’ve never asked him this but I would guess that enough was enough with that. Not that he avoided discussion or shied away from the bear-suit thing but he was never starting those conversations.
“But, you know, a crazy phenomenon. Think about it: 20, 30 years from now when they all come back for ... world champion reunions, people are still gonna be saying, ‘It’s a bear-suit, Joel.’ They won’t even know who the heck I was, but they’ll remember the bear suit which is cool.”
