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The worst part about having pink eye is not the discharge, the pain, the irritation, the having to put in eye drops, nor the word “gunk.” No, the worst part is going out into the world and watching as people recoil away from you like you’re some kind disease carrying vermin who is about to attack  by rubbing your eye against theirs for the sake of solidarity. It’s awful. You are constantly conscious of your appearance and feel dirty to the core. Your family and friends are just as quick to turn on you, refusing to touch anything you’ve come in contact with over the past month.

Now imagine if you contracted pink eye the day you were set to be covering the olympics for the National Broadcasting Company in millions of homes across the world. Bob Costas’ eyes couldn’t have picked a worse week to become infected with conjunctivitis and it’s downright tragic. But what are you going to do, Bob Costas is a national treasure who’s commentary has become somewhat of an American institution.

Even with the infection, Bob is still the GOAT. Last night he coaxed Mary Carillo into drinking some Vodka on national television. He’s flawless. This is his “flu game.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WafGhZd9Rxs

Over the last few days Bob Costas’ infected eyes have gone from virus to “viral,” becoming a source of comedy on Twitter and elsewhere online from people who seem to have no sympathy. And while, yes, it is impossible not to notice, the Internet is really taking an unfortunate and physically unsightly  affliction and running with it, with practically no nod to the fact that Bob Costas is probably one of the greatest voices and personalities in sports broadcasting.

This isn’t Joe Buck or some universally derided talking head. This is Bob Costas. Have you no respect for the original voice of the St. Louis Spirits?

Pink eye is quite literally the worst thing, and I have all the sympathy in the world for anyone who has it and has to do anything out in the public. The internet doesn’t seem to share the same sentiment, choosing instead to make fun. That’s a mistake. That’s going to bite you in the ass, or the eye one day, I promise that. To all those picking on Bob: You’re all going to get pink eye for this, or even worse, a cold sore.

Perhaps due to the entire internet ganging up on Bob Costas’ already tired eyes, NBC (and maybe Costas’ himself) has decided to end his streak of 157 Olympic broadcasts tonight which dates back to 1992, replacing him with Matt Lauer. There is nothing funny about this.

Here is Bob Costas shouting out Ludacris for putting him on.