Bill Walton howling at the moon to ring in the New Year sent college basketball fans berserk

There was really only one way to ring in the New Year if you’re a college basketball fan on the east coast: cracking open a cold one and listening to Bill Walton call Colorado vs. USC on ESPN.

We’ve seen a lot of hilarious gems from Walton over the years, but he was in peak form Thursday night. Walton did about a dozen premature countdowns, all of which were pretty funny, but the highlight of the night came just six minutes into the second half — a little more than half an hour before midnight on the east coast — when Walton let loose like never before, belting out a prolonged and cacophonous howl.

If you’re a fan of Walton’s antics, there’s no way you didn’t love this. This man just starts howling in the middle of play, and Dave Pasch just shrugs it off with a chuckle and goes back to calling the game.

You knew it was going to be one of those nights from Walton as soon as the broadcast started with him counting down from 10. It was approximately 10 p.m. ET.

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“Oh my goodness, we’ve got a basketball game tonight,” Walton astutely pointed out. “And we’re getting rid of all the darkness here. We’re going to find a new path forward. Everything’s going to be a whole lot better because we’re going to let love have its way and we’re going to find the bright side of the road.”

That’s quite the poetic monologue from Walton. Let’s hope that he’s right and that better things are to come in 2021. “Stay positive and test negative.”

Fans certainly appreciated Walton’s positive energy.