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ESPN Gave ‘SportsCenter’ a Cool Throwback Intro to Celebrate Rich Eisen’s Return

For the first time in 22 years, Rich Eisen sat down to host ‘SportsCenter’ on Monday night.

Tyler Lauletta

For the first time in 22 years, Rich Eisen hosted ‘SportsCenter’ on Monday night.
For the first time in 22 years, Rich Eisen hosted ‘SportsCenter’ on Monday night. / ESPN

Rich Eisen first made himself a beloved figure in the hearts of many sports fans as a host of SportsCenter on ESPN.

Paired with fellow iconic newsman Stuart Scott, Eisen entertained with clever lines, comical impressions and good old-fashioned broadcasting chops while taking sports fans through the highlights of the day starting in 1996.

Eisen’s run at ESPN ended in 2003, when he joined the NFL Network as one of the top talents on their new roster. Since then, his eponymous show has gained a following of its own.

Eisen’s show, which has jumped across platforms including Fox Sports Radio, Peacock and The Roku Channel, is now set to be a key piece of ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer offering, meaning Eisen was officially back on board with the Worldwide Leader.

On Monday night, Eisen made his long-awaited return to the SportsCenter desk.

To celebrate his return, ESPN ran a throwback intro for SportsCenter, complete with horns and graphics from a broadcast era not seen in years.

Welcome back, Rich.

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Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

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