Former Duke University basketball coach Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski declared that he wants to appear in “The Bear” after the hit comedy-drama series featured his book in its second season.
On Tuesday’s episode of Duke’s “The Brotherhood Podcast,” the two-time Basketball Hall of Fame inductee said that he binge-watched the Emmy-nominated program when he heard about the appearance of 2000′s “Leading With the Heart.”
“I got texts from people saying, ‘Your book’s on “The Bear.”’ And I said, ‘What the hell [is] “The Bear”?’” stated Krzyzewski, adding that his daughter is also nicknamed “the Bear.”
He said he told his agent that if the show keeps going, he should make a cameo.
“Like, go and have a meal, maybe. It’s in my hometown, Chicago,” Krzyzewski said, referring to the setting of the series. “And it’s a heck of a show.”
The basketball icon explained that actor Ayo Edebiri’s character, a chef named Sydney, uses his book “as a guide” to build a restaurant team after receiving it as a gift.
The book is referenced on a number of occasions in the second season, including one where a waiter thinks Sydney is a fan of the Duke Blue Devils and a scene where fellow chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce) says, “Coach K, the greatest comeback of all time.”
Krzyzewski, who initially called his book’s appearance on the show “a surprise,” said Edebiri is represented by the same talent agency that he is, so he sent her an autographed copy of “Leading With the Heart.”