Mobile Leprechaun

I WANT THE GOLD. GIVE ME THE GOLD.

On St. Patrick's Day 2006, NBC affiliate WPMI in Mobile, Alabama aired a news segment that would become one of the internet's earliest viral sensations. Residents of the Crichton neighborhood reported sighting a leprechaun in a tree. The local news, doing what local news does, showed up with cameras.

What followed was television gold. A crowd had gathered around the tree, absolutely convinced there was a leprechaun up there. One man, who would become known simply as "I Want The Gold Guy," delivered an impassioned monologue about his intentions toward the creature's treasure. Another resident produced a "special leprechaun flute" passed down through generations—"from thousands of years ago, from my great-great-grandfather who was Irish." Someone had even drawn an amateur sketch of the creature, which the news broadcast with complete seriousness.

"Could be a crackhead that got hold to the wrong stuff," one skeptical resident offered, providing the most reasonable explanation heard that day.

Uploaded to YouTube on March 17, 2006, the video exploded. Over 21 million views accumulated. Hip-hop remixes proliferated. The New York Times covered it. South Park parodied it. A "Where Da Gold At" merchandise empire briefly flourished.

In 2014, the truth emerged: a local prankster had dressed in green and climbed the tree as a St. Patrick's Day joke. The leprechaun was never real. But the joy it brought? That was genuine.

Who all seen the leprechaun say yeah! YEAH!

Rest in peace, sweet viral moment. You showed us what local news could be.