The Daily Gamecock: ESPN founder pitches positive perspective

I guess even Bill Rasmussen is turned off by the constant flow of live Super Bowl tailgating food injury updates.

Bill Rasmussen is a baseball fan.

So naturally, when he met USC President Harris Pastides, there was one main topic he wanted to discuss.

“Baseball,” Rasmussen said. “He, as all of you are, is incredibly proud of the back-to-back national championships. What I mentioned to him was, because of my interest in baseball, prior to ESPN, the College World Series had no coverage. I wanted to include it, and that was part of our contract with the NCAA — that we get to do the College World Series.”

Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN, is not only a baseball fan, but a sports fan in general, which pointed him towards a 24-hour network devoted only to sports.

Thirty-two years later, Rasmussen doesn’t even watch his brainchild every day.

“I’m not a big television fan,” Rasmussen said. “I’d rather be doing things.”

...His favorite part of ESPN is the “Baseball Tonight” program, mostly because of his love of the sport. Though he doesn’t watch the channel every day, he still takes immense pride in how it has grown.