Mabel and Olive had gone viral. “It was on ITV Breakfast and names such as Gary Lineker and Kirstie Allsopp had retweeted it and favourite comedians of mine like Dara O’Briain and Limmy [Brian Limond] and the counter kept on ticking. We’ve all heard of things going viral, but to see the mechanics of it and plotting its route was fascinating. LADbible [the specialist viral publisher] put it on their channels – imagine me on LADbible! – and when ESPN [the US Sports network] used it, I suddenly received all these messages from America and even New Zealand.
“That was interesting as I believed the humour of it would only work at a local level, because I have a semi-recognisable voice in the UK. But then I received a text from a friend saying simply: ‘RYAN REYNOLDS!!’.”
The Hollywood actor – best known for his lead role in Deadpool – retweeted with a comment, quoting one of the lines complete with laughter emojis. “There were more than 8,000 messages and, quite unlike what I’ve been used to on Twitter, the overwhelming majority were positive,” Cotter said. “In fact, there were only two telling me that I was terrible dog-owner who was giving my pets eating issues and they had Trump avatars.
“It’s the dogs, isn’t it? Everyone loves dogs at the best of times, but at the worst of times even more so. There’s no such thing as ‘a therapy dog’ – that is a tautology. None of this has changed Mabel or Olive, although a few friends have said Mabel was robbed, because I messed up getting her bowl down. There are demands for a rematch.”
Inevitably, there could be financial considerations in the interest. “I actually had a direct message [on Twitter] from a sports betting company, expressing a desire to be involved in another ‘eat off’,” Cotter said. “No, I don’t think we will be going there. The point is it just shows how much we are all missing sport and what we term ‘normal life’. We absolutely take it for granted and we are at last realising that. I believe when sport returns, there will be a huge outpouring and it will not nearly be as cynical as before. Hopefully, that will be soon, as I am unemployed.”
The morning of March 13 will forever be etched in Cotter’s mind. “I was on my way to Cardiff to do Wales to Scotland when that was called off,” he recalled. “Within an hour, the Masters went as well, and then the Olympics and now we wait on Wimbledon, the Open, the Women’s Open. I had a busy summer planned, about 10 events, but now nothing. Someone told me I could have earned fortunes off that dog video if I’d had my own Youtube account.
“I’m not pleading poverty, and it goes without saying there are many in far, far worse positions, but there does seem a perception that everyone working in the sports media is loaded. Yet behind the commentators and analysts and camera operators, there are sound engineers, production assistants, all these jobs. They are invariably self-employed and many will be struggling. It is an industry that feeds many families.”
Cotter aims to stay busy. After the ridiculous decision by the BBC to ditch The Cut, the popular golf podcast on which Cotter featured alongside BBC golf correspondent, Iain Carter, Cotter has started a new pod with European Tour pro Eddie Pepperell – The Pepper Pod. “It’s doing well, and that’s great as pod numbers are down at the moment, because commuters listen on their way to work,” he said. “Maybe we should get Mabel and Olive on. Unless their fees have gone up.”
