By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
We are in a dead zone for major league sports at the moment. The NFL hasn’t quite started although preseason games will be happening soon. The MLB is just past its All-Star break and trade deadline with a ways to go before the playoffs start. The NBA and NHL lay dormant, waiting for the cold weather to emerge to get their seasons underway. So, what is there to talk about?
I have been enjoying the tweets from the fairly new account, “20 Years Ago Sports.” Or @20YearsAgoSport on Twitter. (I refuse to call it X.) The purpose of the account is straightforward: They post highlights and news that was relevant to the day 20 years ago. Coincidently, for me, a 28 year old, the highlights and news that are posted re the stuff I was seeing when I was first getting into sports.
Here’s a funny one from yesterday. Competitive eater Kobayashi set a new world record, eating 58 Johnsonville Bratwursts in 10 minutes. Some of you might recognize that name. Others might recognize the man who finished in second: Joey Chestnut. Chestnut would win his first Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest championship the following year in 2007. Since then, he has won 18 in total. Chestnut and Kobayashi dogged it out in a Netflix special in 2024, “Unfinished Beef.” Chestnut would win and set a world record for eating 83 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Kobayashi finished a distant second at 66. That beef may be settled, but their stomachs aren’t.
Another gem the account posts frequently is the SportsCenter top ten plays of the day. When I was a kid, I would watch SportsCenter almost every morning, getting up to date on the scores, highlights and storylines from around the country. The best part was the SC Top Ten. Some of the names in those highlights are becoming eligible for their respective Hall of Fames. One name, however, is still playing basketball at the highest level: LeBron James. Evergreen. These clips take me back to what ESPN once was before it divulged into the personality driven, hot take and gambling culture that dominates its airwaves today.
Something even better than the top ten plays? When SportsCenter would treat us to either the Not Top Ten, or the Hardly The Usual Top Ten. Cartwheels. Lawnmower races. Guys tripping. Groundcrew failures. It made for a good laugh.
Another favorite of mine the account posted was one of the old “this is SportsCenter” commercials. ESPN would showcase the world of sport like all of the country’s best athletes worked in cubicles. This one in particular featured the Manning brothers, Peyton and Eli.
It’s a fun blast from the past for people like me. There is something about the nostalgia and ability to reminisce on days gone by. I think that is reflected in our popular Yester Year section we post in each Times Vedette. People like to look upon the past. Like the great Andy Bernard from “The Office” said, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.