
Ernie Johnson honored the late Greg Gumbel in his emotional ‘One Shining Moment' intro
There is perhaps no college basketball tradition more beloved than "One Shining Moment," and this year's edition came with quite a bittersweet introduction.
After Florida topped Houston to win this year's March Madness, an emotional broadcaster Ernie Johnson introduced the 2025 "One Shining Moment" video with a touching tribute to Greg Gumbel.
Gumbel historically held the honors of introducing "One Shining Moment" at the end of a national title game, but he sadly died in December after a battle with cancer.
Johnson previously honored Gumbel to start this year's tournament, and he made sure to give Gumbel one final salute before "One Shining Moment" started.
Johnson is one of the best in the business for a reason, and he absolutely made sure Gumbel wasn't forgotten with such a moving tribute to close out this year's March Madness.
If Gumbel isn't here to introduce this tournament tradition, we're sure glad it's Johnson.

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