Anyone looking forward to this book? It comes out on Tuesday. From the excerpts I have read, I'm looking forward to this one.
A few excerpts -
A few excerpts -
Bob LeyAnchor
I still remember the lunch when [executive vice presidents] John Walsh and Steve Anderson were deciding whether they were going to hire Keith. I said, "You're aware of his reputation, aren't you?" They said, "Oh, it's not going to be like that. He's not making all that much money." I said, "It's not a function of money. Know what you're buying." When he arrived, Keith had one thing in mind: It was Keith. That's fine. Nothing wrong with that.
OlbermannOne night right after we started, swamped by the work and a little jealous that CNN was just a thirty-minute show and we were doing an hour, I said, during a commercial, off air, to Dan [Patrick], "This is a BIG f'ing show." He laughed, I laughed, and so I figured I'd get him to giggle on the air by saying, "When this BIG…show continues." The next day, a dozen people came up to one or both of us and said, "The big show!"
Dan PatrickAnchor
I remember we did it for a while and the guys on the six o'clock—Bob Ley, Robin Roberts, and Charley Steiner—didn't like the fact that we called it "The Big Show," like we thought we were better.
OlbermannIt was never personal with Charley. I think Bob resented it, and Robin couldn't have cared less. And management was saying, "We don't want you putting an individual stamp on your SportsCenter." I was thinking, Yeah, right, that boat sailed already, too.
WalshWe had one huge editorial blowout. Huge, huge, huge. It was the July Fourth weekend, and they were going off the rail; it was crazy. So we had a meeting. One of the points of the meeting was, "You can have your nickname, but when you're going to break, it's SportsCenter." So Keith said, "What do you want us to say, just 'This is SportsCenter'?" I said, "Yeah, that'll be just fine." So they started to say, "This is SportsCenter." It was Keith sticking it to us, because he was going to promote it in the least promotable way: "This is SportsCenter."
PatrickWe got a tongue-lashing, pounding on the desk, the whole thing. Walsh was pissed. I walked out of that meeting—at the time I had two children, maybe three—and I remember saying, "Oh, my God, I'm going to get fired." We're three steps out of the conference room, and I ask Keith, "What do you think?" and he says, "F them!" I said, "What?" And he looks at me and says, "F them." And I said, "All right."
Mike McQuadeVice president of production
I think at some point someone in marketing must have heard that, and that's how it ended up becoming This is SportsCenter.
WalshAnd it turned out to be the biggest ad campaign in the history of cable television.
PatrickIt was all about who had control. I don't think they liked making stars out of us. As Keith and I were told one time, "We don't need another Berman." Chris had established himself as unique and passionate, bold and fun, and I think they were worried that Keith and I were sort of levitating above everybody else.
Charley Steiner
AnchorThe problem about the birth of ESPN2 was, you can't try and be hip; either you are or you aren't. It's that simple. But putting poor old Keith in a black leather jacket like he's heading for a dominatrix studio, come on!
Lack came to me no more than an hour before the first show and said, "Walsh doesn't know what the **** he's doing." Which was true, but it was not inclusive enough. What I meant to say to him was, "None of you know what the f you're doing. I don't know what the f k I'm doing. I don't know what I'm going to say in an hour."
Mitch Albom
SportsNight contributorThe network began on a Friday night. We were sitting in the dark waiting for the lights to come up, and I remember thinking, "Wow, this is the start of a network. I'm part of history here." And with that thought in mind, the lights come up and Keith Olbermann, wearing a leather coat, says, "Welcome to the end of my career."
Rich Eisen
AnchorWhen I got there, I was obviously very much influenced by Keith's style, and everything I did, I tried to make a joke. So I walked by Keith one day in the hallway, and he goes to me, "Nope, not yet," and kept walking. About three days later, I walked past him again and he goes, "Nope, not yet." So I finally asked him, "Keith, what do you mean?" He goes, "You're not even close to doing this show the way you should be doing it or can do it." So one day I get an interoffice envelope, and it's a cover letter from Keith basically saying, "I got this letter from a fan." It was a three-page letter to Keith essentially saying, "Who is this new guy on SportsCenter? Why has he hijacked my program?" And Keith's cover letter said, "Don't take this personally, but he has a point." I was absolutely crestfallen. So I went to Keith and said, "I don't know how to respond to this." He said, "Listen, just do one highlight without a joke. Just one. Then try to do one segment without a joke. Then do an entire show where you go home and say, 'That was the most boring show I've ever done.' And do that for an entire week." He essentially gave me the long-standing concept of less is more. Hands down the best advice I've ever been given.
Jack Edwards
AnchorThe number one thing that surprised me about ESPN was how little team spirit there was for a place that said that its business was sports. If I said "I think you're wrong" to someone who was higher in the organizational chart than I was, what I would get back was "You're not a team player." And on more than one occasion I responded, "When's the last time you wore a jockstrap?" A team is where you have your teammate's back regardless of what happens; you defend them and you sort out any dirty laundry quietly behind closed doors. There was almost none of that at ESPN. There was no encouragement, because the atmosphere was one of stick the knife in his back, climb the corporate ladder. It was a very, very negative place to work. Don't believe the mascot promos. Life is not like that at SportsCenter. The prevailing idea was that the network was much more important than individuals. In many ways, Chris Berman is their greatest nightmare, because he is a fabulously talented, extraordinarily hardworking, obsessed, dedicated, funny man who relates directly one-on-one to everyone who's ever watched him on television. They have done everything in their power to prevent anybody from getting that kind of power again. Their greatest corporate nightmare is to need someone more than that person needs ESPN.
LeyI saw Walsh in the hallway, and I said, "Our long national nightmare is over, huh?" We felt not so much relief when Keith left as unrestrained ****ing joy. And it may not be fair to him, because I don't know what his issues are. Some of what happened with him back then is romanticized, but there are still people there who remember how people were treated, spoken to, referred to, and no amount of subsequent gentle behavior is going to erase that.
Rece Davis
AnchorThere was a rumor a few years ago that maybe Keith would come back, and one of our coordinating producers said, "I think it would be a good idea but with one caveat. He first has to stand in the reception area, and everybody who wants to gets to come up and punch him in the stomach
I still remember the lunch when [executive vice presidents] John Walsh and Steve Anderson were deciding whether they were going to hire Keith. I said, "You're aware of his reputation, aren't you?" They said, "Oh, it's not going to be like that. He's not making all that much money." I said, "It's not a function of money. Know what you're buying." When he arrived, Keith had one thing in mind: It was Keith. That's fine. Nothing wrong with that.
OlbermannOne night right after we started, swamped by the work and a little jealous that CNN was just a thirty-minute show and we were doing an hour, I said, during a commercial, off air, to Dan [Patrick], "This is a BIG f'ing show." He laughed, I laughed, and so I figured I'd get him to giggle on the air by saying, "When this BIG…show continues." The next day, a dozen people came up to one or both of us and said, "The big show!"
Dan PatrickAnchor
I remember we did it for a while and the guys on the six o'clock—Bob Ley, Robin Roberts, and Charley Steiner—didn't like the fact that we called it "The Big Show," like we thought we were better.
OlbermannIt was never personal with Charley. I think Bob resented it, and Robin couldn't have cared less. And management was saying, "We don't want you putting an individual stamp on your SportsCenter." I was thinking, Yeah, right, that boat sailed already, too.
WalshWe had one huge editorial blowout. Huge, huge, huge. It was the July Fourth weekend, and they were going off the rail; it was crazy. So we had a meeting. One of the points of the meeting was, "You can have your nickname, but when you're going to break, it's SportsCenter." So Keith said, "What do you want us to say, just 'This is SportsCenter'?" I said, "Yeah, that'll be just fine." So they started to say, "This is SportsCenter." It was Keith sticking it to us, because he was going to promote it in the least promotable way: "This is SportsCenter."
PatrickWe got a tongue-lashing, pounding on the desk, the whole thing. Walsh was pissed. I walked out of that meeting—at the time I had two children, maybe three—and I remember saying, "Oh, my God, I'm going to get fired." We're three steps out of the conference room, and I ask Keith, "What do you think?" and he says, "F them!" I said, "What?" And he looks at me and says, "F them." And I said, "All right."
Mike McQuadeVice president of production
I think at some point someone in marketing must have heard that, and that's how it ended up becoming This is SportsCenter.
WalshAnd it turned out to be the biggest ad campaign in the history of cable television.
PatrickIt was all about who had control. I don't think they liked making stars out of us. As Keith and I were told one time, "We don't need another Berman." Chris had established himself as unique and passionate, bold and fun, and I think they were worried that Keith and I were sort of levitating above everybody else.
Charley Steiner
AnchorThe problem about the birth of ESPN2 was, you can't try and be hip; either you are or you aren't. It's that simple. But putting poor old Keith in a black leather jacket like he's heading for a dominatrix studio, come on!
Lack came to me no more than an hour before the first show and said, "Walsh doesn't know what the **** he's doing." Which was true, but it was not inclusive enough. What I meant to say to him was, "None of you know what the f you're doing. I don't know what the f k I'm doing. I don't know what I'm going to say in an hour."
Mitch Albom
SportsNight contributorThe network began on a Friday night. We were sitting in the dark waiting for the lights to come up, and I remember thinking, "Wow, this is the start of a network. I'm part of history here." And with that thought in mind, the lights come up and Keith Olbermann, wearing a leather coat, says, "Welcome to the end of my career."
Rich Eisen
AnchorWhen I got there, I was obviously very much influenced by Keith's style, and everything I did, I tried to make a joke. So I walked by Keith one day in the hallway, and he goes to me, "Nope, not yet," and kept walking. About three days later, I walked past him again and he goes, "Nope, not yet." So I finally asked him, "Keith, what do you mean?" He goes, "You're not even close to doing this show the way you should be doing it or can do it." So one day I get an interoffice envelope, and it's a cover letter from Keith basically saying, "I got this letter from a fan." It was a three-page letter to Keith essentially saying, "Who is this new guy on SportsCenter? Why has he hijacked my program?" And Keith's cover letter said, "Don't take this personally, but he has a point." I was absolutely crestfallen. So I went to Keith and said, "I don't know how to respond to this." He said, "Listen, just do one highlight without a joke. Just one. Then try to do one segment without a joke. Then do an entire show where you go home and say, 'That was the most boring show I've ever done.' And do that for an entire week." He essentially gave me the long-standing concept of less is more. Hands down the best advice I've ever been given.
Jack Edwards
AnchorThe number one thing that surprised me about ESPN was how little team spirit there was for a place that said that its business was sports. If I said "I think you're wrong" to someone who was higher in the organizational chart than I was, what I would get back was "You're not a team player." And on more than one occasion I responded, "When's the last time you wore a jockstrap?" A team is where you have your teammate's back regardless of what happens; you defend them and you sort out any dirty laundry quietly behind closed doors. There was almost none of that at ESPN. There was no encouragement, because the atmosphere was one of stick the knife in his back, climb the corporate ladder. It was a very, very negative place to work. Don't believe the mascot promos. Life is not like that at SportsCenter. The prevailing idea was that the network was much more important than individuals. In many ways, Chris Berman is their greatest nightmare, because he is a fabulously talented, extraordinarily hardworking, obsessed, dedicated, funny man who relates directly one-on-one to everyone who's ever watched him on television. They have done everything in their power to prevent anybody from getting that kind of power again. Their greatest corporate nightmare is to need someone more than that person needs ESPN.
LeyI saw Walsh in the hallway, and I said, "Our long national nightmare is over, huh?" We felt not so much relief when Keith left as unrestrained ****ing joy. And it may not be fair to him, because I don't know what his issues are. Some of what happened with him back then is romanticized, but there are still people there who remember how people were treated, spoken to, referred to, and no amount of subsequent gentle behavior is going to erase that.
Rece Davis
AnchorThere was a rumor a few years ago that maybe Keith would come back, and one of our coordinating producers said, "I think it would be a good idea but with one caveat. He first has to stand in the reception area, and everybody who wants to gets to come up and punch him in the stomach
Comment