I didn't think it was possible, but I'm pretty sure I'm growing tired of ESPN. The triviality of some of the things they decide to cover is getting ridiculous. Certainly, almost any news having to do with sports is pretty trivial, but I sometimes cringe at their willingness to make a story out of anything. Or nothing, really. Recently, they spent a large portion of the day discussing a hug. The details don't matter. They were analyzing a hug. I'm serious, a hug.
They'll even magically make a story out of whether or not a story should be a story. When Ben Roethlisberger was "caught" by a cell phone camera going out to a bar with his offensive linemen the week leading up to the Super Bowl, they showed the pictures all day and the story was actually whether or not it should be a story. But, when they have a good character and can turn sports into a soap opera, they'll use any opportunity to do so.
They also used to show things called highlights and stats. A pretty novel idea for its time. Now, the highlights are simply used to further the storyline they've decided to focus on and the stats don't do much to help, so they get left out. I know I can go online to get all the stats I want, but I'm already looking at something that is supposed to deliver sports information, so deliver me some actual information.
When it comes down to it, ESPN's focus has shifted from usually showing sports to mostly talking about sports as promotion for the rare time when they actually do show sports.
Some of the personalities bother me too. And Skip Bayless is about the biggest culprit. I actually used to like him. But, his head growth would make Barry Bonds jealous and his inability to ever consider the mere notion that he might possibly be wrong is simply astounding. He would argue the sky was green until he was blue in the face. And rather than actually debate people, he rotates through a group of reporters willing to concede to his reasoning in order to appear on the show.
Also, Chris Berman. Nothing more need be said.
The forced infusion of pop culture in the SportsCenter anchors' references has also gone a little too far. John Buccigross is the worst. Dude, we know you know the names of the lead singers of some mildly eclectic music groups. We get it. Please stop.
Beyond the shows themselves, the way they pick and choose what becomes a story also irks me. They are pretty much the only source for sports information on television so they really have the ultimate power to decide what becomes news. They can look down a list of things that happened and pick what to cover and, of course, they pick based on what is best for them, not the viewers.
Their selective coverage of NASCAR, something they broadcast, is an example of this. It's a personality-driven sport that's not strong enough to survive if its main personalities have tarnished images. So, ESPN doesn't cover the personal lives of the drivers as closely as they cover the personalities of other sports. You can't tell me a 22-year old, millionaire race car driver doesn't do some of the same things that an NBA player would be severely criticized for. But, they don't seem to get the same kind of scrutiny.
On the other hand, they cover athletes in major college programs and the big three sports like high-profile celebrities because those sports are popular and established enough to survive their athletes having a bad image. People would still watch the NFL if most of the players got out of jail the morning before. Or, fought dogs to the death as a hobby.
I do still enjoy some shows on ESPN and watch them daily. Shows like Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn, Sportsnation, and others like them. They are still about the escapism in sports and don't treat it like actual news. It's still about the fun and enjoyment.
I guess ESPN has just fallen victim to the 24-hour news cycle; another outlet needing to fill time with any story they can find or, more often, any story they can make. I like the old days (is that a gray hair?) when they replayed the same thirty minute SportsCenter from 6-am to noon and then followed that with some motocross or surfing. Those were the days. Now, we have constant live coverage of something that hasn't happened yet and "breaking news" when it does.
Just show me some tape-delay powerboat racing for goodness sake.
