At The Commercials: This Is SportsCenter

To mix things up a bit, after my hating on the music selections of SportsCenter and ESPN the other day, I thought I'd focus on one aspect of life they unquestionably ace – commercials. Specifically, ESPN's This Is SportsCenter series of advertisements has been stellar for the past 16 years.

Thanks to the wonder of YouTube, almost all of the best commercials have been preserved for all of enternity. Highlighting some of the best ones, and providing some links where I can...

- My favorite one, which is probably the most famous overall and from which I use an image above, features ESPN preparing for any issues arising from Y2K. They try to perform a test, which causes the entire building to lose electricity. In a quaint scene now, just like his Simpsons episode, Mark McGwire freaks out and smashes a computer with a baseball bat, and general pandemonium breaks out. SportsCenter anchor Charley Steiner, in face paint and a tie as a headband, holds a lantern and screams, “Follow me to freedom!”

- Speaking of that funny dude... At one point, Steiner gets traded... To Melrose Place for Andrew Shue. Ah, good times, good times! While Shue sets up highlights, like any anchor in his situation would, Steiner is introduced as the new pool boy and asks if anyone wants to rub suntan lotion on his back. All class.

- The Syracuse Orange keeps bugging ESPN's Karl Ravech.

- Arnold Palmer makes... Arnold Palmers.

- The Oregon Duck looks longingly out the window... Aw. Poor guy.

- How ESPN keeps track of Brett Favre's retirement status.

- And finally, a six-minute compilation of This is SportsCenter, although with the caveat that the audio is a bit off in certain spots.