Student reporter Talia Baia speaks out on ‘madness’ after going viral over love-struck player
The student reporter whose interview with a love-struck March Madness player went viral last week has described her newfound fame as ‘absolute madness.’
Talia Baia, a University of Florida student who also works for ESPN Gainesville, spoke with Gators star Bennett Andersen in the locker room at Chase Center after their Sweet 16 victory over the Maryland Terrapins in San Francisco last week.
And fans were quick to point out how smitten Andersen looked throughout, leading to accusations that he ‘fell in love’ with Baia during their conversation.
Talia’s video of the interview has been seen by almost nine million users on X at the time of writing, while a number of media outlets have published stories on it over the past week.
After going viral over the exchange with Andersen, Baia has spoken out on being thrusted into the spotlight unexpectedly.
She shared a photo of several media articles, including one from DailyMail.com, on the interview and wrote on X: ‘This is absolute madness’ along with a laughing emoji.
The reporter who went viral at March Madness has branded her newfound fame ‘madness’
In the viral clip, the ESPN Gainesville journalist initially congratulated Andersen, also known as ‘buckets’, for making a two-pointer in the victory and helping his team advance to the Elite Eight stage of March Madness.
And as he answered a number of questions, fans couldn’t help but notice the Florida guard’s beaming smile throughout the interview.
‘I think a young man fell in love,’ one user said on X.
Another joked: ‘he was looking at her like she was the moon and stars’.
‘That man is in love lol,’ wrote a third.
‘My man found his soul mate,’ a fourth fan quipped about Andersen.
While another commented: ‘Bros better than me, I would’ve folded’.
Following the win over Maryland, Andersen and Florida got the better of Texas Tech in the Elite Eight on Saturday night.
Gators star Bennett Andersen’s love-struck interview with Talia Baia was seen by millions on X
Baia is a University of Florida student who also works for ESPN Gainesville and Barstool Sports
She has juggled her role with ESPN while carrying out a Sports and Media degree since 2021
Baia, who is also a social-media manager for Barstool Sports, has spent over three years juggling her position with ESPN Gainesville while carrying out a Sports and Media degree.
She has enjoyed a number of media internships in that time, including as a runner and broadcast associate for CBS Sports and a sports anchor for Gainesville television station WUFT.
While plying her trade as a journalist, she has also amassed a sizeable following on social media, racking up close to 19k followers on Instagram and 12k on X at the time of writing.
