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| Eisen is changing the way sports news is presented |
Rich Eisen is a funny guy. Rich Eisen is slow. And Rich Eisen is a sportscaster.
How do these qualities fit together? In the normal mind, they really don’t. But in Eisen’s creative, unconventional mind, the perfect harmony of these seemingly unrelated things is exactly what has allowed him to be a famous "sports guy." When this equation is put to action, it demonstrates exactly what a sports journalist in today’s world needs to capture in order to be successful.
An increasing number of sporting media outlets are using entertaining, slapstick tactics to relay sports news. While ridiculous gigs shouldn’t completely replace the conventional way that sporting news is presented, they are a popular and effective supplement to a ho-hum story.
An increasing number of sporting media outlets are using entertaining, slapstick tactics to relay sports news. While ridiculous gigs shouldn’t completely replace the conventional way that sporting news is presented, they are a popular and effective supplement to a ho-hum story.
For example, Eisen has embraced his God-given gift of slowness to more creatively cover a routine event: Every year since 2005, during his coverage of the NFL Combine (where rookies gather to showcase their athletic skills to scouts from NFL teams), Eisen participates in the combine’s signature event, the 40 meter dash.
If you’ve never seen it, you must. The slow-motion image of semi-unfit man sprinting along the sideline of a football field in dress pants, his necktie flowing in the wind as his belly jiggles makes for good TV in the eyes of a sports fan.
The stint is completely hammed up; in this year's segment, Eisen was rolled onto the field in a BodPod machine with a trumpet fanfare playing in the background. After he completes his dash, it is replayed over and over and different athletes are super-imposed in the video, as if Eisen is racing them. Trust me, my description is not enough; check out his dash in 2010 as broadcast on the NFL Network:
Believe it or not, things like this are now considered legitimate sports journalism...and rightly so. Who really cares that future NFL star Cam Newton ran his 40 in 4.58 seconds? What’s actually exciting is that Eisen turned in his personal-best time this year!Beyond Eisen, ESPN actually invited Usain Bolt, the fastest man on the planet, to its campus in Bristol, Conn. for a day in 2009. ESPN staff recorded themselves racing Bolt amid hundreds of cheering employees. That’s not news…but it is fun to watch.
It’s true; Eisen is a funny, slow sportscaster. But perhaps Rich’s own definition of himself, as he declared after his record race this past week, is the most accurate: “This proves I’m an entertainer and an icon!”
While his statement was rich with sarcasm, it’s actually something he, and sportscasters everywhere, should fully embrace. Forget the facts; give me video of the two-hour chuckle-fest with Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson before Sunday’s NFL game, and I’m happy.
If you don’t like it, you can always tune in to C-SPAN.
You have a good amount of links and a good video link. Could maybe have had some still photos of Eisen in more entertaining poses. I am not usually all that interested in sports but have seen a few of the broadcasts with Eisen and a few of the other ESPN commentators and found them to be rather entertaining. I think many areas of reporting have become about finding something that makes you stand out.
ReplyDeleteI think your blogs are definitely going in the right direction and more profiles on those in the sportscasting profession would be interesting. I think it’s good to share how some people get into the industry and make a name for themselves.