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ESPN Announcer Had Sweet Moment Calling Her Son’s College Game With Louisville

What a special moment for the mother and son.

Madison Williams

CBS commentator Debbie Antonelli sits on the sidelines during the 2017 NCAA men's tournament.
CBS commentator Debbie Antonelli sits on the sidelines during the 2017 NCAA men's tournament. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC
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ESPN basketball announcer Debbie Antonelli did something on Wednesday that parents normally only dream of.

While her son Patrick Antonelli entered the game for Louisville against Indiana, his mom was on the sidelines calling the game for ESPN. Antonelli was looking at the court rather "anxiously" and "fidgety" as her son entered the game, the play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins noted.

It was a "dream come true" for the graduate student to be playing for the Cardinals as he apparently grew up with the school's posters on his wall. He played for two minutes in Wednesday's blowout 89–61 win over the No. 14 Hoosiers. He made three free throws, which were his first points scored for Louisville. He also got a steal—and, more importantly, he got to do all that with his mom calling the game.

What a special moment for the mother and son.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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