Sportscaster and radio host Rich Eisen launched his new podcast called “This Was SportsCenter”. This six-episode series looks at the behind-the-scenes of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” set and newsroom during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

For his first episode on Friday, Eisen called in sportscaster and host Dan Patrick, who spoke about his favorite commercial from his 18-year tenure at ESPN. The duo discussed the personal struggles behind the viral bathroom commercial of Patrick and Keith Olbermann. 

“We couldn’t even get a makeup room… We’d put on our own makeup. I’d borrow my wife’s makeup,” said Patrick about the BTS of the commercial. “So here’s SportsCenter making probably 100 million or something crazy and they said (for) budgetary reasons we couldn’t get makeup.”

Eisen then revealed that the bathroom commercial starring Patrick and Olbermann talking about hockey players while doing touchups on their faces was “born out of real life”.

Further into the show, the duo reflected on the tension between their creative freedom and management's desire for a more traditional, restrained broadcast style, including being "called on the carpet" for on-air antics.

Patrick also reflected on his relationship with Keith Olbermann, calling him the “best person” he’s ever worked with and a “great teammate” who had his back. He admired Olbermann for his confidence and the wealth of historical knowledge he had. 

Patrick shared an interesting anecdote from his “SportsCenter” anchoring days with Olbermann. He shared that people had questions about how much of what the anchors said was scripted. 

“None of it was ever (scripted) because Keith wrote his and then I wrote mine. Then we would never read each other’s scripts,” replied Patrick. “I wanted to react to him like the audience would and vice versa, the audience to me as well.” 

While the episode saw the duo share more of the lighter and memorable “SportsCenter” days, it also gave an insight into how personalities like Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann and Rich Eisen helped shape the show’s identity in sports broadcasting culture. 

“This Was SportsCenter” Revisits ESPN’s SportsCenter Legacy

“This was SportsCenter” podcast has Eisen having one-on-one conversations with anchors who were the face of sports media. The podcast goes deep into the behind-the-scenes with archival footage and photographs. 

SportsCenter was launched in 1979 as the flagship show of the new cable network ESPN. The sports station became a part of pop culture as fans turned to the show to get updates on scores, highlights, and other sports-related news.

Their commercials became classics and are fondly remembered to date. 

A part of Disney’s “Throwback Summer” campaign, Carol Horst of Variety revealed that fans wanting to get the BTS of the legendary show can tune in to “This Was Sportscenter: Stories From the Set” starting on June 5. 

Do you have any fond memories of the show?

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Written by

Naomi Grace

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi