Guten Tag, drones.
Most of us here, in fact likely all of us whose screen names don’t rhyme with, uh, with, um, uh, ‘Breadshirt,’ yeah, that’s it! are old enough to remember when ESPN first came into public consciousness, largely through showing things like weird sports like rodeo, strong man competitions, and anything involving women.
I kid, I kid, but back then it was kinda weird.
ESPN was also known for, and in fact probably became a success because of, Sports Center. Sports Center was basically what would happen if your evening news was nothing but sports, and if your local news guy was probably on something, and also if the local news never stopped providing sports highlights, morning, noon, or night.
Sports Center featured personalities like Tom Mees, Dan Patrick, Keith Olberman, Stuart Scott, and many others.
(doesn’t mention Chris Berman because is betting Berman searches for his own name, and not seeing it listed here will, inshallah, (makes several dozen FBI lists), kill him)
Now, of course, ESPN is know for discussing football, morning, noon, and night, all day every day, winter, spring, summer and fall, pausing only for frequent interruptions where Stephen A. Smith screams at people. ESPN kind of sucks now, and would be better served going back to the olden days, and also getting off my lawn.
But I digress.
Sports Center eventually also led to a series of promos called ‘This Is Sports Center,’ where various sports and sports-related personalities would wander through the ESPN campus in scenic (HA!) Bristol, CT, creating all sorts of chaos while promoting the brand like it was their job.
Which it was. I mean, that’s kind of what advertising is.
This week we draft your favorite of those ads.
The rules are simple, even for you people.
What do I mean, “you people”? I mean anyone reading this and wanting to participate in this draft. No, you’re the racist.
Anyway, the rules are simple. It has to be a ‘This Is Sports Center’ ad and you have to like it. Make your pick, then wait ten picks or 30 minutes before making another.
My most favoritest of these ads was the interoffice gossip one, where Stuart Scott gets Evander Holyfield looking to whup Charlie Steiner, while Dan Patrick less than subtly suggests that Karl Ravech might be banging Mrs. Met. To Mr. Met. There’s just something about “Charlie come on out and get your whuppin'” that always cracked me up.
The rest of you are on the clock.

I am late to this but the expression on Bradley’s face upon delivery of the punchline is fantastic . . . probably 2nd all time for me after Arnold Palmer below.
https://youtu.be/dlSgV2Yx2RY?si=2hFzyvSZw8YHP0TJ
https://youtu.be/mB9Uv71R0JM?si=iLcnV9kZKAUzjtEM
Thanks 2Pack; I’d forgotten Becky Lynch’s ad.
This one would be my pick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJOwLLz6pr0
3rd round value…
https://youtu.be/7r-qUpdUx8U?si=x8LEph41K37wiwT6
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qJif_-QqZIw
4. Gheorghe Muresan was always a treat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DNSqUrwcnU
I never saw any of these. So to be a dick, I’ll add this as a tangent.
It’s about the Robert Evans radio ads for espn
https://youtu.be/jkN226PToig?si=RvHFc2jBZiBqIWzy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGE8dwgwPlo
Can’t forget The King (not Hippo).
I’m pretty sure I only know what an Arnold Palmer is because I watched this commercial with my dad
2nd round
https://youtube.com/shorts/6Ou5YvVgkBw?si=FuAbdZMTCWO93Eca
When I’m not busy doing aerial photography, making movie VFX magic, or body shaming obviously ugly (and possibly AI) beauty pageant contestants, I am devoted to fine dining!
Here’s some “soupe à l’oignon” which translates to “The French Styled Soup of the Onions.”
(I’m also busy not watching Sports Center)
https://youtube.com/shorts/CVxEnKiKxFc?si=1djIR1g-55Si1tnO
If you were playing Trivial Pursuit and you got a hockey question, 90% of the time the answer was Gordie Fucking Howe.
For those old Genus editions your only shot for the Entertainment questions was to guess “The Beatles”.
Unless you were an old like me. Entertainment was a guaranteed wedge!
If the answer was a team, Detroit Redwings
Say what you will about Keith Olbermann, he’s clearly delighted to be working with Howe, and doing a piss poor job not breaking out into laughter as Howe whacks away at him.
10/10, would also hit Keith with a hockey stick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxL3ZNTnCY4
How is not taken? “Come on out and get your whoppin’!”
It’s literally my first pick, in the post itself.
Details.
3. Going Up?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksTnfz-F8KE
My dad always cracked up at this one
As I never saw nones of the espn ads, gonna post a random one, cause
https://youtu.be/u0aKKFybRNM?si=W6kJNWxQLc3Hy_E7
https://youtube.com/shorts/MHEC6TFQ-fs?si=RGB2ZUxITWeDOfBZ
moving to cloud kinda ruined this type of fun at places, file misconfiguration just doesnt hit like this. had one company where someone turned off and moved a critical maintenance server under someone desk and another where there was a router under someone desk and someone plugged a network cable in it to form a loopback that brought the company network down for 2 hours.
Can still do a piece of clear tape over the eye on someone’s optical mouse though!
C’mon peps… First round material here…
https://youtu.be/iC1FeKwWnYI?si=iFmwmlNjpkY7B5e-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvhzMicRtzI
What an asshole
Morning
Wood
Has broken.
That’s not a laughing matter, scotchnaut.
Bent carrots are a serious thing!
2. Simple. Classic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN53yX9OnP0
/erases draft board
//curses
Hockey! Muppets! Smoothies?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcBKoGkVUfU
Ovechkin as a Russian spy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VUoGWEZgx0
I used to know who the goalie was but, like much of my youth, that memory has faded.
I think it’s Semyon Varlomov
Too tall to be Putin
How have I never seen this one? This is great!!
Does Francis Scott Off Key count?
No, although that was a truly classic moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_i-V6ac_Hg
The Wally walking away gets me every time
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BJKOvRj7Bnw
I actually remember these, which is something considering how good I’ve gotten at tuning out advertising. I don’t remember them well enough to draft anything, but that’s ok, it would involve going on YouTube and I don’t want to be anywhere near non-DFO comment sections today
There are so many good ones. Penalty cubicle
https://youtube.com/shorts/waq7HohZJDg?si=qzCKfom68pIPw_F0
The integration of the mascots is what gets me.
1. “Your parents signed the permission slip, get up, man!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0rSbR80GQk
ESPN. The worldwide leader of this joke.
https://youtu.be/uEEYbXVCoT0?si=Rj1te3uqA6WvJNHo
This barely made the Top 5?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KpwT3ihBBw&pp=ygUldGhpcyBpcyBzcG9ydHNjZW50ZXIgbWFubmluZyBicm90aGVycw%3D%3D
(over the weekend)
Bengals Front Office: “What do you think we should do, Joe?”
Joe Burrow: “As God as my witness, if you don’t do something, I’m going to defect and run for Ayatollah. At least Iran’s defense is better than ours!”
(Monday morning…)
Overseas.
.
https://youtu.be/M2FVGBwzYDs?si=6jMbhUwumYv16pJS
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wjaGuliaNaU
RIP
Y2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99z_d-iRnsg
That was my second pick.
“Follow me! Follow me to freedom!!”
John Clayton, Slayer
https://youtu.be/XvXRaSvxmqg?si=6euutVfPdKvOtvxZ
This is probably their best one of all time.
RIP. Taken too soon.
yes i can show this one to people at work who have no idea about sports center or any of it and they get it in since we all work from home
Painfully obvious top pick here.