Nolan Elingburg, a member of the undergraduate Class of 2011 and 2012 graduate of the Master of Arts in Interactive Media program, filmed a special gender-reveal video with Williamson, a likely No. 1 NBA draft pick.
Nolan Elingburg called on some superstar power for a video he created to reveal the gender of the baby he and his wife, Danielle, are expecting later this year.
A member of the Elon Class of 2011 and a 2012 graduate of the university's Master of Arts in Interactive Media program, Elingburg is now associate director of Duke University's Blue Devil Network, working primarily with Duke's men's basketball program. So why not feature a monster dunk by Duke's Zion Williamson, perhaps the country's top player this past college basketball season and a likely No. 1 pick in the NBA draft?
So with the Elingburgs and their extended family looking on, Williamson slammed home a miniature basketball on a Duke practice court, releasing a flurry of blue confetti to announce the couple will be having a boy. Adding to the celebration was Duke's Blue Devil mascot, launching his own burst of blue confetti amid cheers and tears from the crowd.
Not a bad addition to the library of gender-reveal videos that couples produce to celebrate the coming additions to their lives. Elingburg, who graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from Elon and then enhanced those skills through Elon's iMedia program, played key roles in producing the couple's special video, which proceeded to go viral after it was posted on social media Wednesday, April 17.
The video caught fire, with USA Today, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, FOX News, CNN and other national news outlets featuring the video, which begins with Nolan and Danielle announcing they are having a baby "and so now we just need to know whether it's a boy or a girl. Zion, take it from here!"
The video was picked up by local TV stations and newspapers around the state and the region, and by midday, the video has more than 800,000 views on Twitter. View Elingburg's original Twitter post here.