The Popcorn Stand: OK, I’m cheesy when bashing ESPN

I’ve got the latest event for struggling ESPN (OK, wasted no time to take my cheap shot at the network) to turn things around. I have to admit, at first I experienced a little bit of schadenfreude last week when I heard the news the network had to lay off about 100 employees.

But then I reminded myself no matter my feelings for the network, those at ESPN worked in the same profession I do and I should never take joy over people losing their jobs and the network did let go some outstanding reporters, which is a troubling sign for me when it comes to the direction my profession is heading.

But there’s no doubt in my mind ESPN can turn the corner with this event. Right up there with its coverage of poker, bowling, hot dog eating, video game playing and musical chairs could be the cheese rolling championships appropriately held in the English village of Stilton, which is named after the English cheese.

After I watched the video http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-cheese-cheeserolling-idUSKBN17Y191, the event looked basically like curling on a street, so hey, if curling can be an Olympic sport, why not cheese rolling. There didn’t appear to be much of anything actually to the competition, no real rules, just a group of people trying to sort of roll a huge wooden block shaped like cheese down the street. Real cheese isn’t used since, well, you try to roll real cheese down a street.

But apparently there’s enough rules and strategy in the competition that it needs a ref who points out the “wingmen” are vital positions in cheese rolling. I don’t know if that’s the actual term, “wingmen” in cheese rolling.

But the ref is right, when I watched the video the “wingmen” were definitely needed to keep what they were rolling on course.

And of course when they take the photos of the winners, I’m sure they ask them to say “CHEEEEESE.”

— Charles Whisnand