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The Rich Eisen Show

This Was SportsCenter: Chris Berman - Season 1, Ep. 2

The Rich Eisen Show

ESPN

Sports

4.31.4K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode of 'This Was SportsCenter' Rich Eisen sits down with Chris Berman for an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look back at Boomer's legendary career anchoring 'SportsCenter' and the role he played in shaping ESPN. From the network's early years to present day, Berman reveals the origin story behind his famous nicknames, how the NFL Draft grew from its no-frills humble beginnings on TV to the spectacle that it has become, to what happened that time an actual skunk took up residence inside the 'SportsCenter' studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi, guys. My name is Susie Schuster, and thank you so much for coming to this first ever live iteration of this was Sports Center.

0:22.6

Please welcome with me, my husband that I met in the newsroom in 1997,

0:28.6

and we're still married, which is a miracle.

0:31.6

Rich Eisen.

0:38.3

Thank you, Susie Schuster.

0:41.3

All right.

0:43.3

We got a packed house. This is awesome.

0:44.3

How's everybody doing tonight?

0:46.3

That's right.

0:48.3

This is going to be a lot of fun.

0:50.3

I met some of you up here on this stage in a meet and greet over the last hour and the

0:55.3

diehards are all here tonight.

0:57.1

And I'm honored that you take some time out of your Super Bowl week to hang out here

1:01.2

with us tonight.

1:02.7

Give yourselves a round of applause because all the proceeds tonight go to Jimmy V Foundation.

1:10.3

So well done to everybody here this evening. Clearly, the first season of this show would not be complete without tonight's interviewee and my guest, and I could not be more honored to welcome a man in his 47th year with ESPN.

1:30.6

He joined just a month after the launch of this awesome network.

1:36.5

Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the Swami himself, Chris Berman.

1:59.0

Thank you. himself Chris Berman. Happy Super Bowl. I heard it's in San Francisco. Is that true? Buffalo's winning. It is in San Francisco.

2:05.4

All right. Chris Berman is here, and this is the first and probably only live edition of this was

2:14.5

Sports Center. So thank you for being that guest, Chris Berman. It's good to see you again, pal. You know what? Those TVs behind you over there? Yeah. I think we were on those. I was at least, you know. Well, I mean, in the VHs... The key is the antenna. Right? And the VHS tapes that we have here? Although we had two inch tapes once upon a time. Back in that day.

2:35.7

Oh yeah, VHS. I still have

...

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