This accent is as good as a Wawa gobbler.
Peter McLaughlin, a very Philadelphia man, has gone viral for his interview with local news station Fox 29 after a portion of I-95 collapsed Sunday.
Although the incident was nothing to make light of — and McLaughlin certainly didn’t say anything negative while speaking to the station about waking up to discover the collapse happened in his neighborhood — people who are familiar with the unique Philadelphian emphasis on certain vowels were instantly smitten by his authentic style of speaking.
Twitter users also loved his somewhat nonchalant attitude about the situation and the fact that the noise of the collapse, which happened early in the morning, didn’t wake him up from his slumber.
Regional accents are close to extinction within this generation, when we find a young specimen in the wild it’s like spotting a bald eagle in central park https://t.co/0D6X8eP5Go
— Katie Notopoulos (@katienotopoulos) June 11, 2023
I can’t explain it but hearing this NE Philly guy explain the collapse on 95 is like chicken noodle soup for the soul https://t.co/KJXzufrWW0
— Jared Phillips (@JaredL_Phillips) June 11, 2023
this is the Most Philadelphia Man that they could have possibly found to comment on the story. excellent work https://t.co/77rHZvYoAc
— notes app enjoyer (@stephk_davis) June 12, 2023
Gonna tell my kids he’s the Governor of Pennsylvania.
— Nole Consultant (@noleconsultant) June 11, 2023
In a follow-up interview with Fox 29 Thursday, McLaughlin swore that although he sounds “like a stoner,” he was completely “sober” during the collapse.
“I was tired,” he told the station. “I had a late night, working late.”
McLaughlin said he was helping out a friend who owns a valet service. He was up late parking cars for a wedding that night, which left him poOed (as McLaughlin would put it), we assume, and caused him to totally pass out.
McLaughlin, who does “heating and conditioning” as his full-time job, also jokingly told the station that he is running for the unofficial mayor of Mayfield — the neighborhood where he lives. He’s even made a mock-up of a T-shirt and started an Instagram account for his “campaign.”
So, there you have it. And, uh, go Eagles?
