Michael Strahan was thoroughly surprised by one of the contestants appearing on his popular game show.
Strahan, 51, has hosted ABC’s The $100,000 Pyramid since it was rebooted and brought to the network over five years ago.
The former NFL star added the gig to his other television work, including appearing as a regular co-host on ABC’s Good Morning America and a commentator for Fox NFL Sunday.
As Monsters and Critics reported, Strahan had a lengthy absence from those shows to deal with unspecified “personal family matters.”
While Strahan was absent from those two jobs for nearly three weeks, one place he still appeared was Pyramid due to episodes being pre-recorded.
A recent episode featured a Pyramid contestant who really impressed the Pro Football Hall of Famer with something he brought to the game show.
Strahan was stunned during a Pyramid contestant’s appearance
Strahan had celebrity guests Jason Alexander and Pete Holmes helping out contestants on the first half of the most recent episode of Pyramid that aired on ABC.
The show’s second half featured actors Ali Larter and Michael Urie. At the start of the game, Urie was partnered with a contestant named Analise from Pacifica, California.
Strahan focused on Analise’s footwear as the camera revealed she was wearing a pair of custom-painted Converse shoes featuring the host’s smiling face.
“Where’d you get those? I think I need a pair,” Strahan said as he was pretty impressed by the unique sneakers.
The contestant told everyone she was an artist and created the shoes to get herself in the mindset for The $100,000 Pyramid game show.
“I always judge an artist by how they get the gap, and you got it perfectly right,” Strahan said as he marveled at the colorful kicks.
It’s unknown if Strahan talked with Analise about making a pair of those, but he seemed interested in having similar shoes for his collection.
In a spoiler alert, those shoes seemed to get Analise in the Pyramid mindset, as she achieved a trip to the winner’s circle with Urie to play for $50,000. Urie joked their connection was due to their good “shoe game.”
Ultimately, they got five of six correct, and Analise left with $11,500.
Strahan’s colleague modeled for the NFL star’s brand
Strahan has his hand in other endeavors beyond television hosting gigs, including his various brands. The Collection by Michael Strahan is one of the brands featuring stylish suits for men sold at JCPenney.
Strahan’s Fox NFL Sunday colleague and former opponent, Rob Gronkowski, modeled a suit from the brand he wore for the show on Sunday. Gronk posed in front of a painted wall with the NFL program’s logo to show the dark blue suit.
“That Sunday drip to #RaiseYourGame with @gronk on @nflonfox,” the IG post caption read on @michaelstrahanbrand.
As mentioned, Strahan had taken several weeks away from TV, extending back to October 26. That date was the last appearance he’d made on Good Morning America before he stepped away for “personal family matters” for a few weeks.
In addition to missing two weeks of GMA, he missed two episodes of Fox NFL Sunday during his absence. However, he returned to the NFL show last weekend as he and his colleagues, including Jimmie Johnson, Howie Long, and Terry Bradshaw, covered the Week 10 games.
That program was also a special Veteran’s Day show, which they presented from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. In addition to the show covering the NFL news and games, it also included Gronkowski jumping out of an airplane.
Since returning on Fox NFL Sunday, Strahan has also returned for GMA and appeared on several episodes last week. However, he missed today’s episode, on Monday, November 20, as he typically does after an appearance on the Fox NFL show.
Viewers could see Strahan on GMA a few times before the Thanksgiving holiday unless he and other co-hosts have received additional time off.
The $100,000 Pyramid airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on ABC.
I was so happy to see Micheal back on GMA.