Cowherd Has a Problem: It's Being Out of Touch, Not HEROES OF THE DORM

Colin Cowherd, host of the ESPN morning sports radio show The Herd, took to the mic to give his rather, let's call it "out of touch" opinion on E-Sports, specifically the Heroes of the Dorm tournament that played on ESPN 2 recently. Here are some of his comments.

Colin Cowherd, the ultimate radio jock, took a few minutes out of his radio show to rail on the fact that nerds got two-plus hours of ESPN2 coverage yesterday: A "League Of Legends" tournament called "Heroes of the Dorm," complete with live audience and e-announcers, played while the NBA playoffs aired on TNT.

“Here’s what’s going to get me off the air: If I am ever forced to cover guys playing video games, I will retire and move to a rural fishing village and sell bait. You want me out? Demand video game tournaments on ESPN, because that’s what appeared on ESPN2 yesterday."

It keeps going. About midway through the video he throws out this fantastic quote.

“Somebody lock the basement door at mom’s house, and don’t let them out.”

Wow, nice. If that wasn’t enough, here are a few other choice nuggets.

“I tagged out at Harry Potter.”

I have no idea what that means.

"I tolerated Donkey Kong."

Kind of like most people tolerate the ESPY's, but okay.

"I'll tell you what that was the equivalent of, there. Of me putting a gun in my mouth, having to listen to that."

All right, well we passed hyperbole awhile back and evidently entered the valley of complete what the hell? Comparing the mere thought of covering a video game tournament to an experience that would make one put a gun in his mouth is really a bit too far, and I’m being very kind with “a bit."

The fact is E-Sports are growing whether you like it or not, and while ESPN2 showcases some great shows, it also has 2 and a half hours of SportsCenter daily, while also replaying shows that already aired earlier in the day (First Take, His And Hers, etc). You don’t think there is some room on your schedule for something new? Truth be told, no one was really discussing ESPN2 much at all as a brand until Heroes of the Dorm. Shouldn’t that say something about the validity of this kind of tournament?

Look, I have enjoyed Colin’s show many a time over the years, and his podcast as well. Didn’t always agree with him, but that doesn’t matter. He is allowed to have an opinion, popular or not. That said, he sounds like an ass here: an ignorant and outdated ass to boot. There is no reason —none — to belittle a group of people in this way simply because you don't "get" them or their preferred activity. There are many, even in your vaunted area of professional sports, that love video games, and I’m pretty sure that most of them aren't sitting in their moms' basements with Cheetos and Mountain Dew in hand. Granted, even if they love Cheetos and Mountain Dew, it still doesn't make them the societal outcasts you proclaim them to be. 

Above all else, at least do some research before you rant like that. Good God, Donkey Kong? That was the most recent thing you or your producers could dream up?

At about 60% of the way through the above video, you will see Colin (before he insults another hosts work ethic) talk about how he approaches mistakes. I promise this is related, just stick with me. Here is what he says.

"I do live television and radio every day. I’ve made huge mistakes and I’ll keep making them. I’ve had horrible segments, and I’ve said irresponsible things. I’ve been an idiot. Then after a commercial break I have to go back on the air. Like a quarterback, I’ve got to keep producing. Feel crappy about it, feel terrible about it, critics are right, I’m wrong, but I’ve got to go back on the air. Can’t sit and dwell on mistakes. I’m doing 40 columns a day.”

Okay, that’s fair. The thing is, if a quarterback keeps making the same mistake, he gets benched, and if he keeps doing it, eventually he gets cut. That doesn’t happen to you does it? You’re not a quarterback, and you’re not in charge of deciding what is allowed to air on your precious network. You are on the radio, and are quite privileged to be doing what you do. It's not the mistakes that people have a problem with. It's that you keep making the same ones, and never seem to apologize for them. No one cares how many columns you write a day. I get it, it's live radio, but that’s not an excuse. Think before you generalize an entire group of people next time, and maybe don’t compare commentating on an E-Sport as tantamount to suicide.

Common sense is free. Please use it.