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ESPN Takes a Dipp
Does the name Sergio Dipp mean anything to you? If it doesn’t, you’re neither on social media nor a fan of the National Football League. But last night, Sergio became the temporary center of the Twitterverse for this performance:
This was in the second game of ESPN’s Monday Night Football doubleheader. Because there is no Monday game in Week 16, the network gets two games for Week 1, which also means there is a one week hodgepodge production team thrown together. They’ve used the occasion in the past to hype various projects and talent such as Mike & Mike. This year they decided to make some political statements. Of course they did.
Beth Mowins (ESPN)
First, they chose Beth Mowins for play-by-play making her the first woman to call a regular season NFL game on national television in 30 years. Quite frankly, I have no problem with that. Mowins is a pro. She works hard and comes prepared. She asks questions and doesn’t pretend she’s played the game. She’s toiled for years calling the most meaningless Big Ten games the network could find for noon kicks on ESPN2. She has more than paid her dues. (And she starts calling regional CBS games starting September 24 in a network talent-sharing agreement. If working with Rex Ryan last night wasn’t punishment enough, CBS is going to make her watch the Cleveland Browns.)
Enter young Mr. Dipp. Just 29, Dipp is a Mexican national who has worked for ESPN Latinoamérica since 2013. (Not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, their domestic Spanish language channel.) The producers decided that his topic would not be the game but the politics of the game, that is, a pregame prayer to the Gods of Diversity. And, of course, immigration.
His performance was so embarrassing he never returned to the air after the open.
But this wasn’t a job Americans won’t do. Think of the amount of talent they had to eliminate for Dipp to become their best bad option. In their springtime talent purge they axed a lot of people who either played the game or know their way around the sidelines. Folks such as Danny Kanell, John Clayton, Jerome Bettis, Dr. Jerry Punch, Ed Werder, and Trent Dilfer. All of whom would not be trying to report in their second language and none of whom would have been persuaded to talk about anything other than the game.
ESPN got exactly what they deserved.
Addendum: Someone pointed out to me that I may have been unfair to Mr. Dipp on his “diversity” comment. Perhaps that is a fair assessment. He may have only been referring to the coach’s diverse experiences. Quite frankly, it was such an incomprehensible mess that I don’t know where he was going with that. So I will concede the point.
Published in Sports
Didn’t watch. Didn’t miss it.
I am missing baseball somewhat. I don’t mind Jessica Mendoza in the booth for the Sunday night game. What I do mind is that the other two knuckleheads jabbering on about everything but the game.
Hey! Weren’t you listening to all the talk about bright spots and hope for the future? They weren’t anywhere near as bad as I thought they would be.
She’s not bad, but I can’t get past the PC/diversity aspects of the hire. I am a Neanderthal.
I thought it was a promo for a skit on Jimmy Kimmel Live. You can’t do something that uncomfortable by accident, can you?
Now we know why he was a lousy coach. A pretty lazy performance. Tony Romo, on the other hand . . . a person made for football analysis.
I’m also seeing that some ESPN anchor (unknown to me) went on a twitter rant about “white supremacist” Trump and his “white supremacist” White House. That should help ratings.
They brought David Ross in earlier this year and he was the equal of Steve Stone.
There aren’t many “analysts” I like, but those two are awesome.
https://twitter.com/Jack_Fritz34/status/907294696032149504
It’s eerie.
Jamele Hill. ESPN issued a statement that her comments were “inappropriate.” But evidently not Curt Schilling inappropriate as she still has her job, unlike Mr. Schilling.
Deadspin called the statement “craven,” because they agree with her. And by ESPN’s refusal to discipline her beyond a slap-on-the-wrist statement, it’s evident they do, too.
Sergio certainly lived up to his surname.
On the other hand, it was great to once again see Hank gettin’ ready for some football!
https://youtu.be/gErEtYjgrps
What’s a female Neanderthal? I don’t want to hear women announcing football or baseball.
Negynothal?
Soo, She used to call the Ohio State games then.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
I feel sorry for that guy. He should have never been sent out there. I gave up on ESPN two years ago and also cut the cord. I can’t believe what ESPN has become.
I like your comments about Beth Mowins. I don’t understand the need to have female announcers in men’s sports, but that seems to be what they want to do. It is now taking place in just about every men’s (or traditionally men’s) sporting events. If the lady is competent and knows the sport, I am glad to have it. The problem I have is when they have really good male announcers who lose their jobs just to have a female. Dottie Pepper is a great example; I just do not like her style and I don’t think she is very good at it, but whenever there is a major men’s golf tournament like the US Open, there she is helping CBS (?) be Politically Correct and I’m usually missing whoever should have been there instead.
I could give a couple examples in NASCAR and Indy Car, too, but I think you get the point.
Of course, what he was trying to say was inane at best.
The reason he sounded so fragmented was that he obviously hadn’t had any experience trying to speak while the sound from a football crowd was rolling over him, along with whatever the producer was saying in his ear. Pure amateur hour.
Boy do I hate I missed that, NOT! I would actually like to thank ESPN. For if it wasn’t for their turn from just showing me sports several years ago, I would have never consented to cut the cord. I am the sports nut in our household, but thanks to ESPN, I have gone old school and follow my teams sorely on the radio. To be fair, I would always listen to the radio broadcast while watching on TV when the local team was playing. Now I just check the scores of whatever other games I care about. Sure frees up a lot of time.
And I hate to hear women announce anything other than women’s tennis.
Nobody cares about women’s sports. The viewership is a rounding error compared to the men. If they’re going to have female announcers, they have to cover men’s sports.
Except for beach volleyball.
We still don’t have to like them. And I’m a woman.
I’m still watching college football, avoiding the NFL, I find it dull. Avoiding ESPN’s coverage if at all possible for college ball, although I find most of their college football announcers have not gone off the deep end, yet.
Waiting for the NHL season, a working man’s sport, no whiners allowed.
Please see the addendum above.
Is that the sport where they skate around in circles until the referee blows his whistle and then they all start punching each other in the face for a while?
Yep, the meek may inherit the earth, they will not inherit the ice.
The NFL, let’s see it takes about 3 to 4 hours to play a game. Constant replay reviews. Oh yeah, we have the “first down dance”, the “I sacked the quarterback dance”, “I broke up the pass play dance”, and of course the “touchdown prom”. Consists of 1 to three players dancing, and 5 others applauding the dance. Then there is “I’ll take a knee dance”, warm up for that dance take place during the national anthem.
Close. It’s the sport where they all start punching each other in the face and then the referee blows his whistle. Then they continue to punch each other in the face.
Didn’t see the game mentioned in the OP. I’m watching a lot less football now. To paraphrase a former governor of Indiana, I’m surprised by the amount of NFL football I don’t miss.
Yep! ?
1st Amendment states: Football shall make no political observations respecting an establishment party, or prohibiting the free excise thereof; or abridging the freedom of sports, or of the media, or the right of the people peaceably to watch football, and to petition the cable carrier for redress of grievances.