The Political Insider . . ."When ESPN burst on the scene in 1979 it was a revelation. Suddenly a network that spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week showing sports, talking sports, and covering sports.
"I was a massive consumer of ESPN.
"This morning I watched about 30 minutes of ESPN for the first time in years. It was a mistake. In the same way that MTV stopped being about music, ESPN has stopped being about sports.
"I am a rabid sports fan. I play hockey and love hockey, I love the NFL, I love college football, and even though my Pittsburgh Pirates are perennially terrible – I still love baseball. My brother and I can and will spend hours on the phone bemoaning the state of the Steelers and playing armchair General Manager.
"Almost all day in my house, sports radio is on in whatever room in the house that I am in. My basement is filled with sports memorabilia and my closets are loaded with sports jerseys, sweatshirts, and t-shirts.
"Some of the most amazing and ridiculous fights in my family growing up were over sports – my mom once locked herself in her car and refused to come out until we agreed to stop fighting over sports.
"When ESPN burst on the scene in 1979 it was a revelation. Suddenly a network that spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week showing sports, talking sports, and covering sports.
"I was a massive consumer of ESPN.
"This morning I watched about 30 minutes of ESPN for the first time in years. It was a mistake. In the same way that MTV stopped being about music, ESPN has stopped being about sports.". . .gn