This is SportsCenter
This is SportsCenter is the name of a series of comical television commercials run by ESPN to announce their SportsCenter sports news show.
The commercials debuted in 1994. Some of the most memorable commercials in this series are the one when the Florida Marlins mascot, which always has an open mouth, finds his girlfriend, Andrea Kraemer, kissing another SportsCenter anchor; one in which the power goes out late at night at the ESPN studios, and an anchor goes back into a room where Lance Armstrong is generating power by riding his bicycle; and one made in 1999, in the midst of the Y2K fears, when the studio's electricity goes out (due to Y2K tests), and amidst the ensuing mayhem (including Mark McGwire smashing a computer with his bat), Charley Steiner walks away, wearing face paint and a tie as a headband, holding a lantern, and screaming Follow me to freedom!!
Many commercials in the series have derived their humor from comparing working for SportsCenter with playing in professional sports. For example, one ad has Rich Eisen being "sent down to the minors" (in his case, working for a high-school TV service), another shows San Diego Padres relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman filling in for Kenny Mayne for the show's "Did You Know?" segment, as if he was replacing the starting pitcher in a baseball game.
Many famous athletes have been featured in the series, including Andre Agassi, Bill Bradley, Kobe Bryant, Brandi Chastain, Jennifer Capriati, Roger Clemens, Mia Hamm, Jim Harbaugh, Evander Holyfield, Keyshawn Johnson, Roy Jones Jr., Mark McGwire, Gheorghe Muresan, Gaylord Perry, Mary Lou Retton, Pete Sampras, Jerry Stackhouse, Tiger Woods and many others.
