You're with me, leather
"You're with me, leather" is a pick-up line reportedly used by ESPN anchor Chris Berman in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the mid-1990s, according to an anecdote submitted by a reader of the sports website Deadspin and made popular on the site after it was posted on Deadspin on April 11, 2006.[1]
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[edit] Origin
According to the story, a friend of the reader was flirting in a bar with an attractive woman wearing leather pants. However, his efforts proved unsuccessful when Berman, who was in Scottsdale to cover baseball spring training, walked by and told the woman "You're with me, leather". The woman immediately got up and left the bar with Berman.
[edit] Berman's reaction
The relationship between Berman and the woman is unknown, although he was married with two children at the time of the story. While Berman has not publicly commented on the story, he allegedly responded angrily when he was asked whether he had ever visited Deadspin by a 15-year-old fan during the 2006 NFL Draft, where he hosted ESPN's coverage. Berman reportedly told the fan, "Why would I go and do that? That is such a stupid question. What are you, stupid? That is so stupid." [2]
This response was referenced in a June 19, 2006 column by DJ Gallo of ESPN.com Page 2. In a fictional diary entry of golfer Phil Mickelson at the 2006 US Open, Gallo wrote, "But I can't believe I got a double bogey on 18. Why would I go and do that? That is so stupid. What am I, stupid? I am so stupid." [3]
[edit] Usage
"You're with me, leather", or YWML as it is also known, quickly became popular with Deadspin readers and sports bloggers, and has grown into an Internet phenomenon. "You're with me, ____", with other words or phrases inserted in place of "leather", is often repeated in response to news stories involving Berman. The phrase is also often used without context as a non sequitur or an inside joke.
[edit] Reference in mass media
[edit] References by current and former ESPN personalities
- Tony Kornheiser (Monday Night Football announcer) on WTEM Tony Kornheiser Radio Show: joked that his touchdown call on Monday Night Football should be "You're with me, leather." [4]
- Keith Olbermann (former SportsCenter anchor) on MSNBC Countdown with Keith Olbermann: "...Then again who am I to get into a semantics argument with a guy carrying an iron war hammer and a tunic made out of animals he killed with his own teeth? You’re with me, leather!"[5]
- Neil Everett on SportsCenter: "He's with leather", describing a catch by Texas Rangers outfielder Gary Matthews, Jr.[6]
[edit] References in sports media
- Ted Miller, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Most gurus project the Seahawks will take a cornerback with the 31st pick, a theory that goes over well with fans who imagine a newcomer forming a ball-hawking tandem with Marcus Trufant that deadeyes spinning pigskins and exclaims: 'You're with me, leather!'"[7]
- Tom Haffarth,Los Angeles Daily News: "Does that mean ESPN's Chris Berman, good enough to do the Super Bowl commercial for the awful Disney remake of "The Shaggy Dog," wasn't synergetic enough to voice his own car? Is it because they couldn't come up with a catchy nickname for him? If only "Chris Airbag" could have been cast for the role, so Waltrip could have told him: 'You're with me, Leather.'"[8]
- Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports: "He is appropriately light, doesn't act like this is too important and, unlike Chris "You're with me, Leather" Berman, doesn't tip off the pick 10 seconds before it is announced with some horrible pun or play on words."
- CBS Sportsline.com SpiN On Sports cartoon: SPuN on the new NBA ball,[9]
- FSN Houston: Displayed info box with the text, "Astros lead the majors with 112 double plays this season" with the title, "You're with me, leather"during a broadcast of the Houston Astros vs New York Mets game on July 23, 2006.[10]
[edit] Popular media references
- Damien Fahey, host of MTV Total Request Live: Cited YWML as his favorite pick-up line on the June 20, 2006 broadcast of Total Request Live and displayed the t-shirt sold by Gawker.com bearing the phrase and an obscured portrait of Berman.[11]
