Its a phrase that sports fans have been hearing in one form or another since 1979. It was the flagship show on the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Better known to all as ESPN. Founded by Bill Rasmussen on September 7th, 1979, ESPN became the mighty power in sports TV ever since. It's founder, Bill, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 93.
Rasmussen came up with the concept in 1978 and saw the station officially launch in 1979, when SportsCenter became the first show on the network. It was first thought up by Bill and his son Scott as a mainly Connecticut venture, then becoming a 24-hour national sports network and a powerhouse in the TV industry. Bill had come off just losing his job with the New England Whalers of the WHA and was looking for a new venture, rolling the dice on what would become ESPN. Over the time since the networks launching, it has broadcast thousands of memorable sporting events and spanned off into multiple different subnetworks under that umbrella. Boill would leave the company in 1980, before it really took off.
Even though his tenure wasn't very long within the company, what he was still able to do to get this network off and running was a huge achievement in not only the world of sports but the world of broadcasting as well. His impact on the business will be felt for a long time to come.
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