WHY HERE?; BRISTOL'S A PERFECT PLACE TO ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND GO TO WORK.Byline: Tom Hoffarth Staff Writer Two miles off Connecticut Interstate 84, exit 33, the row of brick buildings with giant satellite dishes spread out all over the lawn seems to jump out on the highway like some sort of secret NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. control center. Don't be alarmed. It's only the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports making its presence felt. To locals, this is better known as ``The Mum City,'' after the flowers that bloom here. Bristol is also home to the American Clock
The term American clock was used in the Victorian era and afterward to refer to a particular style of clock design followed by the American clockmakers of the day. and Watch Museum as well as the New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. Carousel Museum. The Lake Compounce Lake Compounce is an amusement park located in Bristol, Connecticut, United States and a part of the neighboring town of Southington, Connecticut; the lake itself lies completely in Southington. amusement park amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. down the road is the oldest in the U.S. So how did a sports empire start here? Because about 20 years ago, a guy named Bill Rasmussen had an idea for something called the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, and he was told Bristol would be a feasible place for it to work. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network lore, Rasmussen, a former Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were an American professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. Known as the New England Whalers when they were members of the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972-79, the club played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979-97. publicist, bought a parcel sight unseen for $18,000 in this small suburb of Hartford. By dumb luck, it turned out to be a perfect place. Scientific Atlanta, which provided the satellite equipment, told him a nearby mountain was perfect to shield airwaves from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of (which is about two hours to the southwest) to New England. Through the years, industry folk have wondered why ESPN execs tend to bristle at the suggestion of leaving Bristol behind. When Getty Oil bought a huge piece of the dream early on, there was talk of moving to Century City. Since Disney has been in charge the last three years, wouldn't it make more sense to consolidate and move all this to Burbank with everything else? Or what about staying in the East and moving down to Orlando, Fla., at the DisneyWorld complex? Answers ESPN president George Bodenheimer: ``I'd be hesitant to disturb something that isn't broken.'' Fact is, ESPN has grown to like Bristol as much as the city has liked the attention. With abundant land and plans to keep expanding, the Bristol Campus (as the ESPN compound is called) maintains a small-town, family atmosphere. Try doing that in a 10-story building next to the L.A. freeway system. The place that started with one building, three satellite dishes and 70 employees now has seven buildings, 25 dishes and more than 2,100 on staff, scattered across 43 acres of former cow pastures and mud swamps. There are now as many ESPN employees working in its Argentina offices as there were in Bristol when the company launched in 1979. Johnny Carson used to make jokes about ``beautiful downtown Burbank,'' but Bristol has been just as comically maligned ma·lign tr.v. ma·ligned, ma·lign·ing, ma·ligns To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about; speak evil of. adj. 1. Evil in disposition, nature, or intent. 2. . A city that one-time ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann joking called a Godforsaken place has been a God-send as far as Disney is concerned. ``You have to want to work here,'' said ESPN anchor Dan Patrick. ``You're not here for the weather or the ambiance am·bi·ance also am·bi·ence n. The special atmosphere or mood created by a particular environment: "The noir ambience is dominated by low-key lighting . . . . Bristol is what it is - a blue-collar town with no beach. We're here to work.'' ``Being here and living in central Connecticut is a great blessing,'' said anchor Bob Ley, looking out his office window at the mountains full of green trees. ``They don't allow you to get enamored en·am·or tr.v. en·am·ored, en·am·or·ing, en·am·ors To inspire with love; captivate: was enamored of the beautiful dancer; were enamored with the charming island. with yourself. The impact of what we do isn't thrown in our face every day. It's easy to focus on the job.'' Bill Seward, an ESPNEWS anchor for the last three years, grew up in Sherman Oaks and attended Notre Dame High before heading out to work in small towns as a local sportscaster. One of his stops was in New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). . But he also came back to Los Angeles to work at KCOP-Channel 13 and KCBS-Channel 2 before deciding to go back east to further his career. ``I'm a big-city boy used to stores open all the time,'' said Seward. ``Because I've been in this part of the country, it's not such a culture shock anymore. This is a great setup if you're married with kids. But single people like me have to made adjustments. The perspective changes.'' Al Jaffe, who hires all of ESPN's on-air talent as well as most of the behind-the-scenes producers, realizes the city has some limitations, but maintains Bristol is ``a destination spot'' for those aspiring sports anchors. ``We've taken a lot of kidding, but California has also mudslides and earthquakes,'' said Jaffe, a former TV news director in San Jose and Sacramento. ``I don't think the career decisions made here are based on geography or climate, urban or rural. People are here to work, and they find out this is a pretty good place.'' CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, Box Photo: (1) ESPN's dish farm is the first thing a visitor sees when crossing the Bristol city line. Photo by Tom Hoffarth (2) ESPN headquarters in 1979 looked like this - two satellite dishes and a few parked cars next to a sign that said: ``This is a hard hat job.'' Photo courtesy of ESPN (3) BILL MURRAY IN ``KINGPIN'' (4) DUVAL, QUAID AND CRUISE IN ``DAYS OF THUNDER'' Box: POP CULTURE REFERENCES - Tom Hoffarth |
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