Those Guys Have All the Fun - James Andrew Miller [408]
The NFL Countdown team in 2003, from left: Chris Berman, Chris Mortensen, Steve Young, Michael Irvin, Rush Limbaugh, and Tom Jackson. A remark from Limbaugh about superstar quarterback Donovan McNabb resulted in Limbaugh departing just three weeks into his first season.
At ESPN’s twenty-fifth anniversary in 2004, all six of the network’s head raccoons flashed congenial smiles despite extraordinary tensions among several of them. Somehow, the difficulties rarely got in the way of success. From left: ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, Chet Simmons, Bill Grimes, Roger Werner, Steve Bornstein, and current president George Bodenheimer.
Well, at least “Jaws” is smiling: the Monday Night Football booth in 2007 (from left, Ron Jaworski, Mike Tirico, and Tony Kornheiser). Management’s decision to add Tony Kornheiser, after turning their back on the team of John Madden and Al Michaels, was one of the most controversial moves in the history of the multibillion-dollar property. Kornheiser and Mike Tirico may have had a few laughs on the buses that took them from game to game, but on the air they were one of the least contented couples in sportscasting history.
Serena Williams found it shocking at best when host Jamie Foxx serenaded her at the 2003 ESPY Awards: “Can I be your tennis ball? You can smack me up against the wall.” Although the quality of entertainment has varied radically, as has the comic prowess of the celebrity hosts, the ESPY Awards show has survived enough stormy seasons to emerge victorious— an annual established television event. (Kevin Mazur)
Before he made his own “Decision” during a much-ridiculed ESPN prime-time special, LeBron James cohosted the ESPYs with Jimmy Kimmel in 2007. The ESPYs remain a decidedly non-Bristol operation, with bigger budgets and more celebrity hand-holding and cozying up than anything else ESPN does. (Kevin Mazur)
Cross-Pollination. NFL star Terrell Owens hobnobs with NBA great Kobe Bryant at the 2008 ESPY bash. Most athletes who come to the ESPYs say they get a real kick out of meeting and getting to know stars from other sports. (Kevin Mazur)
Past, Present, and Future. Rob King (left), editor in chief of ESPN digital media, meets with John A. Walsh, creator and custodian of the network’s journalistic DNA. While King spends his days tied to the smallest details and words of the empire’s dotcom operation, Walsh operates on a broad canvas of big-ticket items for the future, supported by his devoted boss, John Skipper.
“College GameDay: There Is No Substitute.” Yes, the NFL may get more attention from the Boys of Bristol, but Chris Fowler (left), Lee Corso (middle), and Kirk Herbstreit (far right) consistently deliver the best show on the network(s). Joined by Desmond Howard and Erin Andrews, they have an extraordinary fan base whose enthusiasm is uncurbed. Andrews was already determined, back in her college days, to become a part of ESPN.
Bumper Crop. Chief Technology Officer Chuck Pagano likes to call ESPN’s crowded backyard “the Satellite Farm,” where all the big dishes grow. This impressive spread, along with the company’s $100 million–plus Digital Center, has made ESPN the high-tech envy of the broadcasting world.
The Campus. Once considered out of bounds by approximately everybody in the world (except for employees who had to be there), ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut, campus is now a destination in itself for athletes who want to appear in the clever and funny SportsCenter promos; for actors who want to plug new movies; and for many other celebrities willing to endure the rigorous “Bristol Car Wash,” visiting all the platforms in one crazy, crowded day.
ESPN the Magazine was launched less because of its strategic value to the company and more