The night clearly belonged to Dick Ebersol at the Sports Business Awards, as he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry. He was surrounded by friends and family filling three tables at the front of the ballroom. His moving remarks touched on the importance of family, relationships and how fortunate everyone in the room was to work in sports. After Ebersol’s remarks, the rest of the evening was filled with similar themes and massive appreciation for all of Ebersol’s many accomplishments.
NBC’s Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth brought some laughs to the traditionally nervous audience when they introduced Ebersol. The two skillfully played off each other and had three fun videos to showcase various moments in Ebersol’s career. Ebersol took the stage to John Williams’ “SNF” anthem, while Costas and Collinsworth entered to Williams’ NBC Olympic fanfare theme. After the show, a group almost 20 deep, including Jim Bell, Jeff Zucker, Costas/Collinsworth, Molly Solomon, Ken Schanzer and Mike McCarley, celebrated with Ebersol and his family on the main stage and posed for photos.
