Plenty of accolades and well wishes are being handed out to Around the Horn. The staple of ESPN’s afternoon lineup celebrated its 20th anniversary on Tuesday night with a one-hour special.
Bob Ryan, one of the panelists on the pilot episode, was on with Dan Patrick on Wednesday. He said that fans should not overlook how important Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, who have both always been too busy with Pardon the Interruption to appear on Around the Horn, are to the younger show’s success.
“Around the Horn is a spin-off,” Ryan told Patrick. “It is the most successful spin-off probably in American TV sports history.”
PTI started a full year before around the horn. Ryan said that what mattered was not only that it was a hit, but that it was a hit with a younger audience.
“PTI came on the air in 01. In 02, I remember watching a college game at the University of Arkansas and someone was holding up one of those face figures of either Tony or Mike in the stands. I was thinking ‘Oh my God! Something’s going on out there. This is interesting.’”
Host Tony Reali and a litany of panelists were in the spotlight during ESPN’s primetime special. Ryan says there is one person that deserves more credit than screen time may suggest.
“The one name that didn’t get mentioned, I don’t believe, was the guiding genius behind both shows, and that’s Erik Rydholm, who created all the games and all the formats of both shows.”
Rydholm has been a creative force for ESPN. His company created both PTI and Around the Horn, as Ryan said, but that is not all. He is also one of the brains behind Highly Questionable, The Dan Le Batard Show, High Noon, and Debatable.
