"This is SportsCenter" commercials have become part of the sports lexicon, just as relevant to ESPN as "Boo-Yah!" and just as lauded as "Who's Now" was maligned. The formula for the basic commercial is simple: feature a well-known athlete walking around the ESPN office, mingling with SportsCenter personalities.
So when SportsCenter anchor Josh Elliott ushered Abby Waner onto the outdoor basketball court at the network's headquarters in Bristol, Conn. for some lunchtime pickup ball in the middle of August, the Duke junior felt like the cameras were secretly rolling somewhere. The scoreboards were high-tech and the bleachers were nicer than Cameron's student section. If not for the boot on her right foot, the shooting guard would have fit right into the scene.
Waner could not help but laugh at the commercial-turned-reality.
"What do you expect?" Elliott said. "This is ESPN."
Waner's trip to ESPN was part of a week-long, whirlwind mini-internship that sent her to New York City and Bristol. Waner-who hardly has veiled her aspirations of working for ESPN after a potential professional career-attended two WNBA games in Madison Square Garden before touring ESPN's central office in Connecticut.
In New York, between hobbling down stairs into subway stations and getting lost in Penn Station, the Duke sharpshooter observed the New York Liberty's last two home broadcasts. She sat in the production truck, listened to producers bark constant commands into Jason Horowitz and Mary Murphy's headsets and watched how the two announcers formulated enough notes to maintain chatter in the game's most boring segments.
The highlight of Waner's week, though, was her trip to Bristol. She sat in the SportsCenter rundown meeting at 10:30 a.m. and schmoozed with Jay Harris, Trey Wingo and Elliott. She happened to be in the studio the day that Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick accepted a plea bargain. Waner watched as the the coordinating staff prepared for the network's breaking news special before she sat in on the 6 p.m. broadcast.
And while she met some of the most recognizable faces in sports journalism, Waner recounted her meeting with ESPNEWS anchor Cindy Brunson with the most reverence.
"It's mostly males that work at ESPN, so it was really good to hear her point of view and how she handles it," Waner said. "She played at Washington State, and so that gives you an experience that if you're a female athlete, you'll have that competitive edge to break into broadcasting.... I just love being able to watch sports and talk about it.
"I like to think that I can be somewhat opinionated, and I guess that's what you have to do if you want to be a good reporter. You have to be forthright and say what you think."
Because Duke is such a high-profile program, with an abundance of prominent alumni connections, Waner is in a unique position to work toward her dream. Jay Bilas, a former Duke basketball player and current ESPN college basketball analyst, helped open the door for Waner at the network.
Bilas' status at ESPN was only part of what brought Waner to Bristol. The junior has developed a certain composure when dealing with the media in her two years at Duke.
Last year, as a sophomore, Waner was the team's de-facto spokesperson in a trying coaching frenzy. When former head coach Gail Goestenkors bolted for Texas, Waner put it upon herself to be the link between the press and the team.
Her experience at the Worldwide Leader, though brief, did nothing to curb her broadcasting hopes. Waner plans to pursue a full-length internship with ESPN next summer, and, in the meantime, aims to earn some spots on more local television.
"Being an athlete, there's really no other place that covers more sports," Waner said of ESPN. "It's the mecca of sports. It gave me a new drive to see if I can do something with this. Before, it was like, 'This is what I like. I'm good with sports and don't mind being in front of a camera, so let's see if this can take me somewhere.' Now, I know for sure this is what I want to do."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.