Jimmy Fallon Thought He Was A Goner During Polar Plunge

As previously reported, Jimmy Fallon took the coldest dip imaginable in Chicago over the weekend. The event, which brings out Chicago’s bravest, is officially called “The Polar Plunge.” Fallon got involved in the plunge after he expressed that he was afraid of Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and in response, Emanuel got on Twitter and told Fallon to toughen up and take the Polar Plunge. Even though Fallon had no clue what he was in for, he agreed that he would take the plunge. Although he didn’t know what he had signed up for, at least he can be comforted that this will be a huge ratings hit.

Fallon recounted the terrifying experience, which saw him jumping into the freezing cold water in Chicago as part of his monologue on The Tonight Show. With a hint of amusement in his voice, and laughter from the audience, Fallon expressed that, for a moment, he thought he was a dead man.

He told the Tonight Show audience:

“I’m happy to be alive. This weekend I did the polar plunge in Chicago. I flew myself to Chicago this weekend. It was unbelievable. All these people were out there doing it. They doubled the amount of donations and all the money went to the Special Olympics.”

Fallon then explained that before he took the dip, he got advice from all walks of life, including one man who said, “Jimmy when you get in that water you’re going to feel like you’re having a heart attack.”

Fallon continued his story of the Polar Plunge, having described his ‘near death’ experience in a way only Jimmy could.

“I get there and I see these EMTs. You might die if you go in this thing. They had to get a bulldozer to plow out the ice before I jumped in the water. Chicago didn’t fool around. They had a blizzard the night before. The water was 30 degrees. I go in and I took a ski hat off a kid. I went under and a couple of bubbles came out and I froze and then I figured, well if I’m really dead they’ll fish me out of here. My hair immediately turned to ice and I heard bagpipes.”

According to a report, Fallon wasn’t kidding around about how many people were there. A record number showed up for the plunge as more than 3,200 people participated and raised a little under a $1 million for the Special Olympics.

[Image credit: Screen-cap from Chicago Sun Times TV]