If you expected the new ESPN 2 network to be like ESPN “classic,” forget it. It’s more like “Wayne’s World 2: Wayne and Garth Do a Sports Show.”
That’s not a knock. But watching “SportsNight,” ESPN2’s prime-time show, reminds you of those two wacky rockers winging their show from Wayne’s basement.
ESPN2 is broadcast from a garage, and except for two rules – no cussin’ and no insults – anything goes.
Just ask Browns linebacker Pepper Johnson, a guest star the first week. “They told me to just have fun!” Pepper says. So, he took over the station. He was the cameraman, the makeup artist, the director barking orders. He even fixed a truck!
Reporter Downtown Julie Brown says fans are tired of the same old interviews. “I try for stuff that lets viewers get to know athletes. Did you know Jim Kelly collects clowns? Or that Randall Cunningham doesn’t like people sitting on his white couch?”
ESPN2 will do some hard-core sports, according to editor Vince Doria, but keep mixing it up. “Like with baseball, we ran a graphic counting the spits and chaws during a game.”
The sports they carry will be action-packed: hockey, college hoops and extreme stuff like skateboarding and sky diving. The network even goofs around with the way stuff looks on-screen.
“After the Giants lost we had a graphic under a Barry Bonds interview that read: `Bummed,’ ” says creative director Noubar Stone. “Then, under Will Clark it said: `More Bummed!’ ” And for pitcher Dave Burba: `Most Bummed!’ “
They’re especially excited about their new Steadi Cam TV camera. “You put on a vest and it’s part of you,” says camerman Eric Anderson. “It’s counterbalanced so the camera is in zero-gravity. I can go up and down stairs, run, jump – go anywhere!”
“We’ll try new shots with it,” says director Dennis Sedory, “like close on (anchorman) Keith Olbermann to see his eyes light up!”
He might want to keep in mind that Keith kinda looks like Groucho Marx – and a closeup like that might make viewers’ eyes bug out!
