The “Thursday Night Football” crew mourned the loss of Kirk Herbstreit’s beloved dog, Ben, with host Charissa Thompson paying tribute on the broadcast ahead of a showdown between the Ravens and Bengals.
Herbstreit, who serves as an analyst on the Prime Video broadcast and for college football on ESPN, announced that Ben had to be put down after a battle with cancer on Thursday afternoon.
“We want to share our deepest sympathies with our teammate Kirk Herbstreit on the passing of his beloved dog, Ben. We all loved seeing Ben here every single week. He was a huge part of the ‘TNF’ family and he will be very missed,” Thompson said.
The beloved golden retriever had grabbed a special place in football fans’ hearts as he traveled with Herbstreit by private plane to games where he worked.
Ben could be seen regularly on the set of broadcasts wagging his tail and with a big smile on his face, often getting more attention on football sidelines than Herbstreit.
Teams would often issue Ben his own credential, with the University of Texas titling him the “Golden Receiver Coach” on his pass for an Oct. 19 game last month at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Ben had a viral moment earlier in the fall when he wandered into the pregame show for the LSU-USC game.
Herbstreit revealed earlier this week that Ben had been undergoing chemotherapy treatments but his situation was deteriorating.
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In the emotional announcement on Thursday, Herbstreit called Ben “1 [of] 1” and in a separate post expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support.
“I’m truly overwhelmed by how many people he touched-and from the bottom of my heart thank you for sending your best wishes and letting me know how much you loved him,” he wrote.
Other members of the Herbstreit clan posted their remembrances of Ben, with son Jake, a former walk-on safety at Clemson, putting a video of college football fans cheering for his late pet.
“This is such a sweet video from our time in Texas a couple weeks ago,” he wrote. “The crowd reaction makes me smile every time. Glad so many of you got to meet Benny through your screens and on the campuses across the country. He was my best buddy. I’m so thankful I got to be with him so much up until the end.
“I love you, Ben. Rest in peace, puppy.”
