COLUMN: Hey ESPN,you could learn from SI
By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
Oct. 3, 2004
Two of the biggest influences on sports have celebrated anniversaries this year.
Sports Illustrated, the grand daddy of all things sports centered, turned 50, and ESPN, the self-proclaimed 'World Leader,' hit 25.
Both media outlets took a running start at their birthdays leading to big finales in recent weeks.
SI's 50th anniversary issue hit mailboxes and newsstands last week, while ESPN's 25th year celebration was broadcast in August.
Maybe we just have too much ink in our blood, but Rants &Rambles can't help but feeling that SI's celebration sizzled while ESPN's floundered.
Don't get us wrong, we like SportsCenter and the endless stream of games and information available on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News and ESPN Deportes. There was no better way for a high school boy to start his day than with a bowl of cereal and one of the seemingly endless replays of SportsCenter from the previous night.
But when SportsCenter celebrated its existence, it left a stale taste in our mouths.
The 'World Wide Leader in Sports' continually patted itself on the back throughout this summer, which it called 'The Season of the Fan.' The only thing being fanned was the limitless egos employed by ESPN.
The cable stations had endless countdowns and special shows to reflect on the last 25 years, but instead of just looking at it as a quarter century of sports, ESPN had to remind you each time that the events happened while it was on the air.
It wasn't enough to celebrate two and half decades of sports for ESPN, it had to be a celebration of what the station covered.
News flash: Without sports, there would be no ESPN. These events didn't occur because there is a station in Connecticut to broadcast them, ESPN occurred because there were events happening in the world.
ESPN also doesn't seem to realize that SportsCenter the station's flagship show that has jumped from a 30 minute show to 60 and even 90 minutes has lost its fastball.
The highlight show used to be the gold standard for sports television. The anchors were witty, the highlights were tight and the show flowed so smoothly it always left you wanting more than you got.
Now, the anchors are self-absorbed, catch-phrase mongrels, who consistently want to projected themselves into a story.
Chris Berman is a cartoon character of his former self, who knew when to have verbal fun and knew when to let the picture on the screen speak for itself.
Dan Patrick is still the model for SportsCenter anchors. He's quick and funny, but without his old running mate, Keith Olbermann, he has lost the zing off his zingers.
Bob Ley, the most droll of all SportsCenter personalities, has now become the best of the show. His straight forward delivery is a refreshing change from Stuart Scott's bee-bopping slang or Linda Cohn's consistent failures to be funny.
Which brings us to SI. The magazine that has put out more than 2,000 issues found away to celebrate itself without celebrating itself.
Sports Illustrated didn't tell the reader how it has changed sports, instead the magazine focused on how sports has changed in 50 golden years of publication.
SI didn't celebrate how it covered stories, instead it celebrated the stories it covered.
The focus on the Sept. 27 cover date, with an interesting if not slightly disturbing sports rendition of Sistine Chapel's ceiling, was on the stories, personalities and events in sports that made the magazine great.
There is no better line in the magazine than Jeff MacGregor's "…taking the work seriously but never the subject…"
This is what SI has done in the last 50 years, and it is how the magazine celebrated itself.
ESPN needs to learn from this. The network at one time had fun in sports and delivered it in an entertaining manner.
Now, the 'World Leader' is full of folks who seem to auditioning for a spot on "Last Comic Standing."
Pull back ESPN, you exist because of sports. Put the games first and your personality second. SI did it, and you should always listen to your elders.
