Where Your Dreams Become Reality
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Where Your Dreams Become Reality |
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ESPN TO TELEVISE AN ENTIRE DISTANCE RACE UNINTERRUPTED BRISTOL, April 1 Distance running fans, your day has finally come. ESPN proudly announced over a conference call yesterday that they intend to, at some point in the year 2007, televise an entire distance run without some form of interruption. This is an exciting day for fans of track and field, and, indeed, for ESPN, said ESPN president George Bodenheimer, who sat in on the call along with ESPNs lead track and field commentator, Larry Rawson. The decision came in light of a record number of death threats directed toward ESPN producers and programmers in 2006 on the behalf of numerous American track and field fans, most of which were related to unannounced interruptions of distance races while in progress. Track fans are known throughout the industry as a violent sort, with death threats being received for reasons as varied as excessive coverage of womens pole vault, nearly twenty years of fawning over Gail Devers, and the mere existence of commentator Carol Lewis. But it was the frequent interruptions of distance races that provoked the most violent reactions. LetsRun was able to obtain scores of emails received by ESPN in the immediate aftermath of several interruptions, none of which were printable. Yes, there have been threats, but we appreciate that passionate sort of feedback, Bodenheimer insisted. When asked if any single race in particular had been selected as a possible candidate for an uninterrupted broadcast, Bodenheimer was noncommittal. We havent made that decision yet, but we promise there will be an uninterrupted distance race this year. Maybe some high school kid will try to break 4:00 in the mile. Thats always a big draw. Or even an 800 since it takes less than two minutes to complete. I can tell you it wont be a race thats heavy with African runners, because Carol and Dwight [Stones] dont know any of their names. Bodenheimer also ruled out that the uninterrupted race would be over a mile in distance. There simply isnt enough airtime to go around. Lets be realistic, every sprint race is going to have several false starts. Thats about five minutes per right there. And then theres all the coverage that must be devoted to triple jumpers walking around after their jumps. So you can see how we cant afford to just give up eight minutes or more like that. Ideally, yes, wed show an entire 3k without cutting to commercial, but Im afraid it isnt realistic. But commercials were not the exclusive cause of interruption in ESPNs broadcasts. A broadcast of a meet in May of 2006 has become infamous throughout the world of distance running nerd-dom. In it, the mens 800 meter run was entering its final 300 meters when ESPN2 suddenly cut away to show Barry Bonds then poised to catch Babe Ruth on Major League Baseballs career home runs leaders list being intentionally walked. By the time Bonds reached first base, the race was long over. Several other distance races were later interrupted for Bonds at-bats, leading to riots in college cross country houses everywhere. Later in the conference call, Rawson, long a champion of United States distance running at all levels, fielded questions from reporters. In characteristic fashion, Rawson placed ESPNs announcement in perspective by making a clever analogy. Imagine going down to your local high school track and watching a boys mile race in a dual meet in its entirety, without any interruptions. From start to finish, all you watch is the race itself, without any unexpected breaks to give an update on Barbaros health. Or to show Terrell Owens doing sit-ups in his driveway. Or to show Barry Bonds dressed up as a woman. Or to debate what John Amaechi coming out as a gay man means for the NBA. Or to talk about Tim Hardaway hating gay people.
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