Rich Eisen Tells Cool Story Behind Classic ‘This Is SportsCenter’ Ad
Rich Eisen didn’t appreciate being “sent to the minors”
There’s a reason why ESPN’s “This Is SportsCenter” ads have endured for 25 years. The clever spots’ wry sense of humor is timeless. Any sports fan of a certain age could tell you their favorite—and then add five more to the list.
The commercials were just as meaningful for the SportsCenter anchors who starred in them. In a series of tweets on Monday night, former ESPN anchor Rich Eisen described the “in-house competition” centered on the beloved ads.
Eisen specifically mentioned a spot called “Sent to the Minors,” in which he gets demoted to reading announcements for a high school.
@RichEisen You handled this demotion like a pro. pic.twitter.com/8bgOPABwr0
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) July 28, 2020
Eisen, who was still a relative newcomer at ESPN, took offense to being the one picked to play the demoted anchor and went to veteran Dan Patrick to complain.
I’ll just embed Eisen’s whole Twitter thread here, because there are too many interesting asides to just summarize the whole thing.
Back in the day, other than which SportsCenter show you were assigned and with whom, the biggest sense of in-house competition involved which #ThisIsSportsCenter spot you were assigned, if you were lucky to be assigned one at all.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 28, 2020
...my colleagues were folks like @KeithOlbermann @dpshow Chris Berman @RobinRoberts @BobLeyESPN Craig Kilborn @miketirico and so on. I was tossed into a deep-ended pool and felt a bit of pressure to say the least. And when it was time to shoot spots, I remember the @ESPN staff...
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 28, 2020
...notes on who was in what spot. At any rate, I got my first spot in my first year, carrying Kerry Strug in a newsroom and others followed, including a great spot called “Cornerman” with the brilliant and profane Lou Duva. To be totally honest...https://t.co/ITtqqqzPsK
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 28, 2020
...as for the spot in question: Sent Down To The Minors. I had been on the air for a couple of years there, eager to be making as big a mark as possible and got the script and my first thought was...WTF. Why in the world were they choosing ME to be sent down to the minors? So...
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 28, 2020
in his chair, with his Dick Trickle racing jacket on the back, and he asked me one question in his uniquely understated patter: Why? I told him how this spot was a bad look when I was trying so hard to be a top player at ESPN. This spot was sending me down to the MINORS. WTF?!
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 28, 2020
...to shoot the spot, I tried to mimic the shocked look I probably had leaving DP’s office. Needless to say, I decided to throw myself completely into the spot which has remarkly and, with amazed relief, thankfully become a classic. Of course, you can guess who never fails...
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 28, 2020
to remind me of who wanted to tap out of that spot and who sagely tough-loved me from tapping out and actually going through with it. Yes, @dpshow, I know you were the one who kick-saved that one into me showing some James K. Polk spirit. /end
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 28, 2020
Eisen’s first job after going to grad school at Northwestern was as a sports anchor for KRCR-TV, Redding, California’s ABC affiliate. Today, that’s the 131st-largest media market in the United States. Two years later, he was at ESPN. So Eisen was right to view himself as an underdog, but at the same time, he was one of the most talented and beloved anchors on the network. Even people who are at the top of their field have serious doubts about their abilities.
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