A biography for Rich Eisenhasn’t been written yet.
“When I was at ESPN, I would say in April, 'We should be doing something on the NFL,' and they laughed at me.”
“We just have fun with our NFL Draft coverage because we understand that it's a long process, and there can be technical glitches that we don't profess to ignore. During our late coverage of the Draft, we sometimes get slap-happy and distort the heads of our analysts.”
“I don't think people are keen to have Coldplay tell me about Cam Newton's red zone option.”
“I had doors slammed in my face; I had a lot of news directors who wouldn't give me the time of day. Some told me I wouldn't have a future in the business.”
“In the sports world it's all about argument. It's all about having a hot take. The other person has to have the polar opposite opinion, and you bash them together. To me it is an outlier to have a conversation be the basis of why you are listening.”
“The NFL is part of the pop culture landscape, so sports fans don't bat an eye when you stop in the middle of a piece to talk about a new movie.”
“By the time I left ESPN in 2003, 'SportsCenter' had become a far different show than the one I initially joined in 1996.”
“The Tuesday before the Super Bowl is all about the media. Well, to be honest, every day at the Super Bowl is about the media, but Tuesday of Super Bowl week is specifically called Media Day.”
“As a former stand-up comic from my University of Michigan days, the opportunity to participate in a Friars Club roast was bucket-list stuff.”
“When I'm at the game, I try to put the fans into my shoes. I'm snapping pictures right and left.”
“I try to ask the questions I think fans want to hear and just have a good, relaxed conversation.”
“Nothing trumps good conversation.”
“Good late-night humor can work at any time of the day.”
“Someone who's honest about their golf game, I think, is a person who's right in the world.”
“I have a competitive streak.”
“There are hundreds of millions of people on dating apps every day, but apparently, no such apps cater solely to sports fans.”
“People are tuning in for one reason and one reason only: to find out what's happened. That's what took me a very long time at 'SportsCenter' to figure out.”
“Everybody has a corporate structure.”
“I love having the ability to do podcasts because of the long format, informality, and the opportunity to decide what is said, how the show is laid out, and who the guests are.”
“I always thought that first jump from a small market should be as big as possible. But never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be ESPN.”