"WHO'S NOW" DRAWING INDUSTRY JEERS
Speaking of ESPN, the folks in Bristol are filling up the sssslow spot on the sports calendar with a phony popularity contest that pits athletes from various sports against each other in a bracket-style contest aimed at deciding who is the most "now" -- whatever in the hell that means.
We've heard from several industry sources regarding this goofy fluff-fest (in order to preserve the identity of our sources we won't say whether any of them work for ESPN . . . wink, wink), and the reaction has been decidedly negative.
Said one source: "Keep ripping it. Transparent dead-period stuff. Embarrassing."
Said one reader: "ESPN is the new US Magazine."
Really, who is the target audience of this exercise? 10-year-olds? Why not just have a bunch of high-profile athletes square off in a Madden tournament? (Or, even better, Guitar Hero.)
Hey, there is plenty of stuff about ESPN that we like. For example, last week's "My Wish" segment with Drew Brees was the best that we've seen. But since one of our goals is to stir things up, we focus on the things that we don't like -- the things that tend to tarnish the brand that we watched grow into legitimacy in the 1980s, and soar to the top of the industry in the 1990s.
"Who's Now" is the best example of the worst we've seen on ESPN, and we hope that they never bring it back. Even better, we'd like to see them pull the plug on it, along with a public apology for wasting everyone's time.
