"ESPN is an operation of puppets." My interview with Fake SportsCenter

By Dean Thompson July 9, 2013

If you're a "normal" sports fan, chances are you like ESPN. Who woudn't? All sports, all the time. But if you're a diehard sports fan, chances are you can't f*cking stand ESPN. All sports, all the time? Like hell. More like the Tim Tebow-Tony Romo-drama show. I haven't seen a baseball highlight on ESPN longer than 30 seconds all season. I remember once last year they spend like 20 minutes out of a 60 minute show wishing Tim Tebow a happy birthday. It's disgusting.

So, I figured I'd interview someone better than SportsCenter, Fake SportsCenter and his awesome twitter handle @FakeSportsCentr. If you're not following, well, let's just say you're missing out.

Lakers brass believe the addition of Chris Kaman puts them 'one step closer' to landing Andrew Wiggins

— Fake SportsCenter (@FakeSportsCentr) July 8, 2013

University of Florida boosters pleased the school is now identified with a serial murderer instead of Ryan Lochte — Fake SportsCenter (@FakeSportsCentr) July 8, 2013

Dwight Howard reportedly unhappy in Houston

— Fake SportsCenter (@FakeSportsCentr) July 5, 2013

Without further ado, Fake SportsCenter:

Where did the idea come from to start the @FakeSportsCentr handle?

It started from following Faux John Madden and Fake ESPN on Twitter. The original idea was a 'Fake Deadspin' but wanted to give it a wider reach and bigger brand, so we changed it to Fake SportsCenter.

How long have you been tweeting from @FakeSportsCentr?

Just over a year.

How many people know you’re the person behind the @FakeSportsCentr handle? How do you stay anonymous?

Maybe 30 or so. It comes up at random times such as when our waiter at a local restaurant heard the conversation and said, "Wait you are Fake SportsCenter? I have bunch of friends that retweet that." It's not about publicity or acknowledgement. It's just more enjoyable watching a game while interacting with 80k people.

Is it tempting to ever tell anyone that you’re the person behind the @FakeSportsCentr handle?

Not at all. It's just for fun. The guy that runs Not SportsCenter posts his name all over the place and likes the attention, so it varies from person to person. Maybe it helps him get chicks or something.

More Twitter parody interviews below:

Interview with the Fake SportsCenter Twitter parody handle

@FakeSportsCentr

Interview with the Bill Murray Twitter parody handle

@BillMurray

Interview with the Roger Goodell Twitter parody handle

@CaptTouchback

Did you see the handle growing to this many followers when you first started?

Not really, but figured it was possible seeing other accounts. It's a balance between what is personally funny and what the masses find funny. It would be nice to never use Mark Sanchez in another tweet, but the people can't get enough of the guy. The first time a tweet went viral was a surreal feeling that your voice could spread throughout the country or even world with just a simple press of a send button.

Any unique things you did to grow your following?

Well, it started as more of a mock headline channel, but having a full time job, it's not easy to keep up, so we changed to more of a 'live tweet' channel that either has instantaneous commentary or rewrite of a breaking story. Or, live commentary throughout a sporting event that the country is watching i.e. March Madness, NFL Football (the biggest events are the nationally televised Sunday and Monday night games), and playoffs or tournaments in the other sports. To be frank, timing is more important than content, but the perfect tweet is a hybrid of both.

If you could interview anyone dead or alive while hosting an episode of SportsCenter who would it be and what would you ask?

An uninhibited Michael Jordan to find out the real reason he stepped away from basketball at the peak of his career. But as Bill Simmons found out, you can't ask anything even mildly controversial, so this hypothetical segment would be edited out regardless.

Who's your dream retweet?

Jay Z

Favorite follower?

To be honest, don't even look.

Has anyone with ESPN ever contacted you?

No.They must ignore our Tweets during live broadcast considering many times they are at the top of the trending topics they start.

Do you think it’s possible for the "real" ESPN or SportsCenter handle to ever be entertaining?

Yes, but they try so darn hard. ESPN has turned into an operation of puppets. It's like the Food Network of sports and Skip Bayless is Guy Fieri. Here's a recent ESPN tweet: