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ESPN colleagues reconnect at big party

The event at Aqua Turf was billed as a “reunion, celebration and friendship.”
Photo by: ESPN
One of the reasons ESPN’s decision to fire about 300 employees in October generated so many headlines is because of who was laid off. Many of the people affected bled ESPN. By all accounts, most were longtime, well-liked and well-respected employees.

In a sign of the bond they formed in Bristol, many of those former employees got together for an informal Christmas party Dec. 17 at Aqua Turf, a Southington, Conn., restaurant that previously hosted several ESPN Christmas parties over the years.

Several of the 325 or so people who attended the event say attendees — about 30 to 40 of whom are still with the company — did not turn the event into a gripe session. Rather, they viewed it as a chance to reconnect with old colleagues. Billed as a “reunion, celebration and friendship,” many wanted to properly say goodbye to their longtime colleagues.
But there was one moment during the event that stood out. The group’s organizers came up with a David Letterman-style Top 10 list of rejected “SportsCenter” catchphrases filled with inside jokes about working in Bristol. Different ESPNers read each one.

For example, “Baseball Tonight” host Karl Ravech had No. 7: “You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him with complimentary Disney passes.” “OTL” host Bob Ley had No. 3: “He’s not my-Vydas, he’s not your-Vydas. He’s our-Vydas … because we bought the rights.”

But it was former ESPN President George Bodenheimer who brought the house down. He was picked to deliver the No. 1 rejected catchphrase (“Boom, goes the Bodenheimer”), and as he walked out he received a huge standing ovation.

Hundreds of people who had just lost their jobs from ESPN roared their approval for a person whose name was synonymous with ESPN’s executive suite for decades.

“People adore that guy,” said former producer Gus Ramsey, one of the people laid off in October who helped to organize the event. “The fact that he had the longest standing O of the night didn’t surprise me one bit.”

Bodenheimer delivered a heartfelt talk that shed light on a spirit of camaraderie that long has been a hallmark of ESPN’s culture. He spoke to the group about how important they individually were to ESPN’s rise to become the country’s biggest sports media outfit.

Though Bodenheimer’s talk was similar to the ones he delivered during his 13-year stint as ESPN’s president, his words felt more poignant last month, according to several people in attendance. The crowd was filled with on-air stars and top-line executives who came to honor their colleagues, including “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts and former “SportsCenter” anchor Charlie Steiner, who flew in from Los Angeles. In a short address to the group, Roberts remarked at the uniqueness of the warm feelings many in the group have of their time in Bristol.

Other attendees included the network’s first “SportsCenter” host George Grande, NFL studio host Chris Berman and management that included longtime programming executive Norby Williamson and retiring operations executive Steve Anderson.

John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.

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