One of the longest-running sports television series will broadcast from Cheyenne this summer.
Gary Striewski will anchor the 9 p.m. broadcast of ESPN’s flagship SportsCenter program from Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 24 as part of the network’s 50 States in 50 Days event.
The show’s decision to broadcast from Cheyenne is “awesome,” Frontier Days Executive Director Tom Hirsig told Cowboy State Daily.
“It's awesome for not only Wyoming, but Frontier Days and the city of Cheyenne to get some recognition about the greatest rodeo on Earth,” Hirsig said.
Gov. Mark Gordon said it’s a great national showcase for Wyoming.
"I'm thrilled that the Daddy of ’Em All will get national exposure with this visit from ESPN to Cheyenne,” Gordon told Cowboy State Daily. “It's a great opportunity for the rest of the country to see what makes Cheyenne Frontier Days so special, as well as highlight Wyoming's rodeo culture."
Visit Cheyenne President and CEO Dominic Bravo also called the announcement “thrilling.”
“We know it's going to be an unforgettable celebration of Western heritage and the athleticism of all of our athletes including animal athletes and obviously it’s big for our community pride,” Bravo told Cowboy State Daily.
Return For Anchor
Striewski said Cheyenne Frontier Days was his first TV assignment as a reporter for KGWN and he volunteered to anchor the Cheyenne broadcast.
“Maybe I’m biased, but there isn’t a state or city that deserves a national spotlight more than Cheyenne, Wyoming,” Striewski said. “I wouldn’t change a thing about starting my career here in 2010.”
He called his return a full-circle moment.
“I take great pride in saying I lived in the Cowboy State, and I’m so excited to help showcase the Wyoming way, Wyoming culture, and just some of what makes this state so special to me,” he said. “There’s something about the Cowboy spirit that becomes part of you — gritting out those subzero winters, making that frosty (and sometimes dangerous) drive on I-80 from Cheyenne to Laramie to cover the Pokes.
“No matter how long your stay is in Wyoming, I firmly believe you’ll come out the other side a better person for it.”
Cheyenne In The Spotlight
Cheyenne has received a lot of national press recently, Bravo said.
Travel and Leisure magazine and Forbes have written about the city, he said. Cheyenne is frequently featured on the Cowboy Channel.
SportsCenter’s CFD broadcast is part of a 50-state tour being conducted this summer. One of the goals of the tour is to highlight something unique in each state.
“We are the rodeo state,” Hirsig said. “As far as major sporting events, the rodeo is us.”
The nationwide tour began Friday with a broadcast from Washington, D.C., and will conclude Aug. 16 at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
SportsCenter was broadcast from the BMX Mount Rushmore Nationals (South Dakota) on Sunday. Other broadcasts include:
• Nebraska on July 15 for the Cornhusker State Games.
• Utah on July 17 for an Athletes Unlimited Softball League game.
• Montana on July 21 for the Montana State Fair.
• Idaho on July 28 for Ironman Boise.
• Colorado on Aug. 9 for the Savannah Bananas playing at Coors Field.
The tour is being held to mark the 20th anniversary of a similar 50-state tour in 2005.
SportsCenter was the first program broadcast on ESPN when the network went on the air Sept. 7, 1979. There have been more than 60,000 episodes broadcast since, the most in American television history.
Matthew Christian can be reached at matthew@cowboystatedaily.com.
