Rich Eisen is back on ESPN, and I couldn’t be more excited! When I found out that the legendary SportsCenter personality who had spent the past 22 years away from the desk was coming back to host his first episode since May 2003, I stopped what I was doing and made plans to check it out live. Guess what, it ended up being one of my favorite moments from the 2025 TV schedule.
Watching Eisen back in Bristol for the first time since my freshman year of high school had me laughing, it had me crying, and it just felt right. The comedy, the in-depth analysis, the callbacks to his days on SportsCenter, it all hit, and has me wanting more. With The Rich Eisen Show coming to the new ESPN app in December, the “Mothership” needs to make this a regular thing…
Rich Eisen Back Behind The SportsCenter Desk Was Like A Trip Down Memory Lane
From the old school SportsCenter introduction and graphics to all those old “This is SportsCenter” commercials that never get old, and to a rundown of the best NFL plays since he left ESPN in 2003, watching Rich Eisen back behind the desk was like a trip down memory lane. I know that nostalgia is one hell of a drug, and I should be cynical about it, but I’m not going to lie, I ate it up. All of it!.
My brothers and I used to watch SportsCenter religiously back in the day, and I can’t even count how many summer nights were narrated by Eisen talking about all the best plays of the day. And while I wasn’t too happy about Eisen’s Top 10 including two highlights where the New Orleans Saints were on the losing end, it was so nice to have him back.
His Touching Tribute To Stuart Scott Hit So Hard
I had a feeling there would be some kind of tribute to Stuart Scott, Rich Eisen’s longtime cohost and friend, who passed away in January 2015 at the age of 49, but SportsCenter went above and beyond. After playing highlights of their best “This is SportsCenter” commercials, Eisen spent a few minutes talking about his “TV wife.”
Sharing memories of their time together and thinking about what the ESPN icon would have thought about sports today, Eisen did a tremendous job of honoring his late friend. It was short, but the segment was just so cathartic. When Eisen ended it by saying, “I miss Stuart so very much; he should be in that chair with me, with us tonight,” my heart shattered. And I wasn’t the only one, as a colleague wrote extensively about the touching tribute, breaking down the most emotional parts.
With Rich Eisen Back On ESPN, I Think The Mothership Should Put Him Back In The Rotation
With The Rich Eisen Show coming to the ESPN app, and anyone with a Disney+ subscription in September, I think the “Mothership” should put him back in the SportsCenter rotation. And after his return after 22 years, it just makes perfect sense for everyone: the network, the host, and us, the fans.
No, it’s not just because of the nostalgia. The way he got through segments, several interviews with players and other ESPN personalities, and made sports analysis so much fun is something ESPN could use, especially with an overabundance of shows with people’s “hot takes.” I know I’d watch every episode with Rich behind the desk.
ESPN, you need to make this happen. I would love to see Rich Eisen coming up with wild Top 10 lists once a week, or going crazy during highlights of the weekend’s football action like it’s 1999 all over again.
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