The so-called worldwide leader in sports announced that ESPN Classic will cease broadcasting at the end of the year. While not totally unexpected, the news is still sad to hear. In many ways, the network was emblematic of both the rise of ESPN in the 2000s and its steady decline during the 2010s.
ESPN Classic was never afraid to try new things during its first decade or so of existence. Some of it was great, such as Kenny Mayne leading coverage of the Kingdome’s implosion. Other stuff, like the broadcasting of car auctions, was super lame. No matter what, the channel was always trying.
And then the 2010s hit and ESPN sold out the fan in order to line its pockets. ESPN Classic became an afterthought just like ESPNews or basically anything that didn’t involve people shouting about Tim Tebow. It was simply a place where they could broadcast whatever as long as it didn’t cost money.
We shouldn’t let that take away from just how awesome the network was in its heyday. Here are a few of the things we’ll miss when ESPN Classic is gone.
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4 things we’ll miss when ESPN Classic is gone
1) Cheap Seats
Cheap Seats was revolutionary for its time when it came to sports. Despite the final episode airing in 2006, the show’s cult following remains strong because of how unique and hilarious it was. My favorite Thanksgiving was spent watching a Cheap Seats marathon on ESPN Classic and playing NCAA Football 2004 with my roommates. In fact, a few of the games we played that day earned the honor of…
2) Instant Classic
The actual Instant Classic was a pretty cool concept. However, integrating the ESPN Classic “Instant Classic” into the NCAA Football series really took it to the next level. To this day, we all probably remember some of our Instant Classic games.
3) The Baylor-Texas A&M game no one saw
In 2008, Baylor and Texas A&M played a five-overtime thriller with the Bears winning 116-110. Or at least that is what we were told. The game wasn’t broadcast by anyone meaning there weren’t even highlights of it available. Until ESPN Classic found a solution. The network obtained footage from the in-house cameras at Reed Arena that are used for the Jumbotron.
Play-by-play and commentary from the Aggies’ radio broadcasters were then edited with the video to create a broadcast. This may not seem like a big deal in 2021, but it was pretty freaking cool for 2008.
Related: Texas A&M’s Reed Arena is an okay place to watch a game
4) The late 2000s/early 2010s weekday night lineup
My first semester after transferring to Idaho, I got hooked on the ESPN Classic weekday night lineup from 9pm-11pm. You would get a pair of Cheap Seats reruns along with an hour broadcast of either AWA Wrestling or Herb Abrams’s UWF. I especially enjoyed the latter with its highly visible SportsChannel America branding. More importantly, I would always know it was time for bed at 11pm because stupid Arliss started. No offense to Robert Wuhl, but I could not turn my television off fast enough when that “comedy” came on.
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