Bob Costas Saved Someone From Choking to Death, as a National Treasure Would Do

Ethan Miller. Getty Images.

Bob Costas is one of those figures who has been in the public eye so prominently and for so long that he's become divisive. And in a way, it's totally understandable. It's one thing if a guy is on TV five hours a week doing a late night talk show. Those are easily avoided. But when he's front-and-center every time you want to watch postseason baseball or anchoring the Olympics every two years when all you want to do is catch a little hot Biathlon action or enjoy the high-adrenaline excitement of some Archery competition, the same voice gets repetitious after a few decades. I think even Bob Costas would agree, given the Low-T performance he put on at the end of the Diamondbacks-Dodgers game:

I've always been torn on Costas. On the one hand, he's smooth. On the other, he's a little too smooth. In the proper forums I've heard him tell some fantastic stories. One that has always stood out is one of his first jobs ever was doing play-by-play for the Spirits of St. Louis of the ABA. And once a few days after the team surrendered a huge lead and lost a game, they built up another big lead and Costas claims he said, "The one thing they have to avoid is a repeat of last week's blow job …" as his partner stared at him in stunned silence. Great story, if true. But then again, he's the type of broadcaster who'll hijack a perfectly entertaining game to self-indulgently pontificate on some issue that's important to him for three innings or so. Personally, I prefer Costas when he's finding out Jim Brockmire gave him Pink Eye in Sochi:

Nevertheless, when you live a life as celebrated and unique as Bob's is, every day is magical. Every moment is an opportunity for do great things. And he never misses an opportunity to make miracles happen:

Source - Bob Costas can add “hero” to his lengthy résumé.

The famed sports commentator recently performed the Heimlich maneuver on a diner at a restaurant — ultimately saving his life, Page Six can exclusively reveal.

The patron, who was not seated with Costas, began to choke when the Emmy Award winner rushed to help him.

“Bob doesn’t think this was that big of a deal,” a rep for the longtime NBC Sports personality tells us.

“He really feels he did what just about anyone else would do in a similar situation.”

And there you have it. A person is alive today thanks to the same cool, calm demeanor that Costas brings to the broadcast. From death's door, to finding himself wrapped in the arms of the man who's carried a Mickey Mantle rookie card in his wallet for 50 years. Just another day ending in "day" for Bob. And I bet he gave his fellow restaurant patron a ten minute monologue on how he things baseball has benefited from the Disengagement Rule and whether the trend of going to one-inning "Opener" pitchers will harm the game in the long run. 

But typical of the man, we'll never know. Because real heroes don't see themselves as heroes. That is up to us. And Bob Costas is a damned American hero.