A messy room, a pounding headache and SportsCenter: this past Sunday morning began in much the same way it always begins. Yet, as my hand passed over the buzzing alarm, crumpled pants and ringing phone en route to the all-important remote control, I became conscious of something special when I turned on the television for the sports fan’s morning coffee.
The tube was already turned to ESPN, exactly where it had been when I passed out the night before, but I did not see what I expected to see. Instead of a recap of the previous day’s college basketball, I stared through glazed, crusted eyes at a montage of three decades’ worth of great sports moments. I was delighted at the thought that I might have somehow fell the night before and slipped into some sort of sports paradise where Chris Berman reigned in a circa 1980 suit. The truth behind the confusion was soon revealed to me: I was witnessing the 30,000th episode of SportsCenter.
Airing up to twelve times a day and featuring highlights of the entire day in sports, SportsCenter is an all-day companion for any and all sports fans and a convenient resource for fans who are too busy to follow their teams in any other way.
I don’t pretend that waking up to SportsCenter is a daily routine for everyone other than me, but I suspect there are more than a few others who sit through multiple rotations of the same episodes and top-ten plays. Regardless, 30,000 episodes is a major feat for any show, and it establishes SportsCenter as the predominant sports show in the United States. The daily sports recap has not, however, been confined within the borders of its country of origin. Versions of the show are now available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Cantonese and Korean.
Since George Grande introduced the very first episode of SportsCenter on Sept. 7, 1979, there has not been a single day when the show has not aired. This streak nearly came to an end after the September 11 attacks, as ESPN joined other networks across the country to cover the disaster. The network ultimately decided to air a half-hour segment on the night of the eleventh to report country-wide sports cancellations. National duty was satisfied, and the streak continued.
I realize that it may not be the greatest news source, and I sometimes envy the more diligent students who wake up to CNN or The Post, but until I see Diane Sawyer split two defenders for the dunk or hear Katie Couric scream “boo-ya” to a Dwyane Wade highlight, my mornings are spoken for.
