Fans are honoring late NFL journalist John Clayton by sharing one of his most memorable moments. It was an iconic “This is SportsCenter” ad that some have dubbed one of the greatest ever.
Clayton died Friday following a short illness, the Seattle Seahawks announced. He was 67.
After covering the Pittsburgh Steelers, Clayton moved to the Pacific Northwest to cover the Seahawks. It was there that he was noticed and hired by ESPN in 1995.
Clayton was known for bringing the facts, being a consummate professional and teaching fans about the sport, helping earn him the nickname “The Professor.”
For one of its many hilarious “This is SportsCenter” ads, ESPN decided to take that image and turn it 180 degrees. In the ad, Clayton finishes up a live report via satellite with anchor Stan Verrett. We then see him alone in his cluttered bedroom where he quickly rips off his suit — which was actually just half a jacket and tie he was wearing over his black, sleeveless Slayer t-shirt.
Clayton then goes over to his stereo, turns some metal rock up to 10 and takes the hair tie off a fake ponytail.
He then jumps onto his bed, grabs some Chinese food and yells “Hey, mom! I’m done with my segment!”
It was possible that ad might never have happened. Mike Sando, a friend of Clayton who also covers the NFL, tweeted on Friday that he found and old email from Clayton in 2012 with an early script for the commercial.
“JC Wasn’t sure whether he should do it,” Sando tweeted.
Newsday, citing Sando, reported that Clayton was worried his credibility would take a hit.
“I almost couldn’t contain my enthusiasm,” Sando said, according to Newsday. “I went over the top encouraging him to do it, telling him what a great idea it was and how there was no downside.”
And as Sando tweeted Friday, “He did, of course, & it was amazing.”
Fans were sharing their well-wished on Twitter Friday along with clips of the commercial. Many echoed a similar thought, calling it the “greatest This is SportsCenter commercial of all time.”