Fond Farewell

If you listened to his radio show over the past few weeks, it probably didn’t come as a shock to you when Dan Patrick announced he would be leaving ESPN on Aug. 17. Patrick left as many clues about his fate as David Chase did about Tony Soprano’s. Patrick just had the courtesy to give us all some closure before his time on the Worldwide Leader cut to black.
So I’m not surprised to see Dan bid adieu to his role with ESPN after 18 years with the network. But I’m awfully sad to see him go. My fondest memories of sports programming were the hours I spent watching Dan and Keith Olbermann – complete with Magnum P.I. moustache – anchoring SportsCenter before it was all glitz and glam. Before Disney was calling the shots, before the Worldwide Leader had spawned 46 sister stations, a Web site, a magazine, a golf school, a cell phone, a line of women’s lingerie, ESPN the candy bar, ESPN the beer, ESPN the SUV and Chris Berman’s run for the White House – there was Dan and Keith, and SportsCenter was just about sports.
It’s quaint to think about today, memories of a bygone era that seem as distant as the days when MTV played music and Barry Bonds weighed 175 pounds. But like everything, sports changes with the times, and over the years, ESPN has become more and more about entertainment than sports. Rarely does a day go by I don’t hear a true sports enthusiast complain about such things, yet ESPN’s ratings and profitability have never been higher. ESPN, like any corporation, plays to the masses. It searches for the bottom line. And in truth, it’s ESPN’s slanted take on sports, its ability to mix athletics and pop culture, that made the network – and SportsCenter in particular – the juggernaut that it is.
And no one did a better job of toeing the line between sports and entertainment better than Dan Patrick. Along with Olbermann, Patrick ushered in the era of “en fuego,” and paved the way for Craig Kilborn, Rich Eisen, Scott Van Pelt, Trey Wingo and, for better or worse, Stu Scott. Patrick, quite simply, changed our expectations of what a sports anchor should be.
Even as ESPN grew more into the Disney corporate behemoth and less and less the cable start-up that took the world by storm, Patrick maintained the perfect balance. He always seemed more like that somewhat cocky buddy who never worried about espousing his sports knowledge over a few drinks. He had an air of authority, but always seemed like a good guy. He was funny, insightful and at times, self-deprecating. He was entertaining, but always remained a journalist. He was fair, he called stories like he saw them, and he never feared calling out someone who deserved it – whether it was Ricky Williams or David Stern. Sadly, too few “journalists” at ESPN still do that.
So I have no doubt that Dan will be sorely missed. True, his role with the network has declined recently, but his radio show and his NBA coverage remained some of the best programming ESPN had to offer. Hopefully we’ll all see him again soon – whether he’s hosting “The Price is Right,” filling in for Keith on “Countdown” or sliding in next to Babs on “The View.” OK, actually let’s hope it’s not that last one.
- David Hale