'Prayers for Nick': News anchor's accidental mass email sparks pandemonium

A Kansas City news anchor became an internet darling overnight — all thanks to one crucial email error.

Nick Vasos, a traffic reporter with KDAF-TV, was feeling a little under the weather last week, so he decided to email his bosses to tell them he needed to take a sick day on Friday. 

But there was just one, tiny problem: Instead of messaging his superiors, he accidentally emailed a general account for all employees at his station's parent company, Nexstar Media Group. According to KDAF-TV, the company owns more than 200 stations nationwide. 

Suddenly, thousands of employees across the country — most of whom had no clue who Vasos was — were responding to the anchor's sick note with reactions, jokes and well wishes. 

"Attention #NexstarNation. Take it from me, when calling sick don’t email news@Nexstar.tv You’re welcome. #PrayersForNick Now time to rest. Good night," Vasos tweeted Thursday evening.

That was just the beginning. Once Vasos' coworkers started posting about the hilarious incident online, the mishap became a fully-fledged viral phenomenon. Twitter users began crafting their own elaborate reactions to the email, each seemingly more outrageous than the last. 

Vasos and his colleagues were quick to clarify that he was not critically ill, but that didn't stop the internet from pretending he needed their support. Soon, the hashtag #PrayersforNick was trending across social media. 

Even the anchor's coworkers got in on the joke. Many employees at KDAF-TV crafted an elaborate "get well" shrine for Vasos at his desk. 

The reactions carried on throughout the weekend, drawing everyone from fellow Nexstar employees to complete strangers and everyone in between. 

"We always recommend drinking more H2O if you're feeling under the weather. Get well soon," KC Water tweeted, before sharing a photo of the words "Prayers for Nick" printed across a local water tower.  

"He will never live this down. He must have had brain farts, it is the only reasonable explanation," one Twitter user wrote.  

Nexstar was ultimately forced to send out a statement telling its employees it was temporarily locking the company-wide email list.

"I hate to be the party pooper and I have as much sympathy for Nick as anyone. But with the number of members of the breaking news list, there could be thousands of emails sent by the time this is done," Nexstar wrote. 

As for Vasos, he was back at work on Monday, receiving plenty of hilarious celebrations.