Costas called on old-fashioned tech to bid farewell

Almost as soon as Bob Costas announced on the “Today” show that he was stepping down as NBC’s prime-time Olympics host, he was inundated with text messages from well-wishers. Costas spent much of the next two hours responding to those messages.

COSTAS

In a SportsBusiness Journal podcast, Costas said the experience, which involved responding to hundreds of texts, caused him to rethink his devotion to the flip phone.

“Today is the day when I have to say to myself, can I any longer justify the flip phone?” he asked.

In the ensuing week, several people have asked me if Costas followed up on that plan. I texted him last week to find out, and he responded … from his flip phone.

“I think it may be on its retirement tour,” Costas texted.