ESPN's Sports Heaven
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Sports Heaven is a lavish commercial produced by ESPN to hype the release of its short-lived sports-oriented cell phone service, Mobile ESPN. Launched during Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006, the 60-second ad was one of the most discussed (and replayed) after the game. It featured an ESPN fan walking through a star-packed city of sports icons. AdWeek estimated the cost of producing the ad at $30 million, and this was before the $2.5 million necessary to run it during the Super Bowl.
There are dozens of athletes in the spot, some generic (marathon runners, fencers, a ring girl, and so on), and some very specific. A possibly incomplete list includes, in rough chronological order:
- The University of Miami football team (coming out of the subway)
- Bowler Chris Barnes (rolling a strike down the alley)
- Gymnast Carly Patterson (doing a floor exercise on the sidewalk)
- Track and field star Walter Davis (bounding in a triple jump)
- Skateboarder Eric Koston (doing stunts on his skateboard)
- St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jim Edmonds (tossing a ball)
- San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (sitting at a bus stop)
- Tennis player Robby Ginepri (bouncing a ball on his racket)
- The University of North Carolina soccer team (forming a “wall,” as if to block a free kick, at the bus stop)
- World's Strongest Man competitor Jon Andersen (dragging a city bus)
- Indy Racing League driver Dan Wheldon (drinking from a milk jug by a hot dog stand)
- Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis (dribbling a basketball on the sidewalk)
- Former Chicago Cubs and current Los Angeles Dodgers batter Juan Pierre (“stealing” across a crosswalk)
- Oakland Athletics pitcher Huston Street (walking across the street, in an apparent pun)
- Middleweight boxer Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy (leading his entourage through a crosswalk)
- Golfer Mike Weir (teeing off in a crosswalk)
- Boston Red Sox pitcher David Wells (pulling up to the intersection on a motorcycle)
- New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury (also dribbling a basketball)
- Sprinter Justin Gatlin (in the blocks to start a race)
- WNBA all-stars Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, and Sue Bird (running a passing drill in the park)
- Fisherman Skeet Reese (catching bass in the lake in the park)
- Minnesota Twins outfielder Torii Hunter (throwing a baseball at the camera)
- National Spelling Bee champ Anurag Kashyap (reading a dictionary on a park bench)
- The UCLA Marching Band (marching by the Heisman Trophy statue in the park)
In addition, every vehicle in Sports Heaven is a sports vehicle, whether a dragster, a monster truck, an entire IndyCar race, or a fleet of motocross bikes flying out of a garage. A Zamboni and the University of Oklahoma’s "Sooner Schooner" get into a fender bender in the street. The Goodyear blimp flies overhead.
The crosswalk is a football “1st and 10” line, and the building number is “755” (Hank Aaron’s legendary number of home runs). The bus that strongman Jon Andersen is pulling has the number 36 on it (36 is Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome "The Bus" Bettis's number). The movie playing on the theater marquee is Miracle. A poster is also seen for the film at the bus stop.
The Sports Heaven commercial was filmed while Juan Pierre still played for the Florida Marlins. After he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, his uniform was edited into a Cubs uniform.
The music in the ad is Chad and Jeremy's "A Summer Song."
