Either Relevant or True » Dan Patrick’s Big Announcement!™

Dan Patrick’s Big Announcement!™

Get me a young Dan Patrick! Dan will be leaving ESPN, on good terms. His final show will be August 17, with a week of special shows leading up to it. He was off the air while the folks at The Worldwide Leader tried to lure him back into the fold. There is no new radio or television project to announce at this time.

Here it is on ESPN.com.

Did Keith just say his first Nightly News essay is tomorrow night?!! If I heard right, he said it would be about Barry Bonds.

I’m in shock about Dan leaving. I thought he was going to die in harness. I wonder what the catalyst was?

That’s a really nice picture of Dan, btw.

Vaya en fuego, DP.

This is almost a good thing for Keith. Countdown + football on Sunday night + Big Show + saving democracy = too much.

Oh no! D: But I agree with Charity, that would’ve been a lot of business for Keith. ;p

I’m still sad it’s not for The Price is Right. ;p

Yes, Kim, you heard right; Keith did say his NBC Nightly News debut would be tomorrow night, with an essay on Barry Bonds.

But back to Dan, lest I not give him his moment.

Wow. Just when people were doubting he had something big to announce…

It was obvious from the start of his show today that he was going to announce his departure. When, and for what, if anything, was still open. And the “for what” part still is.

Catalyst? Funny you should ask what the catalyst was, Kim. Because I get the funniest feeling that once again, somewhere back in the bowels of The Worldwide Leader, someone is pounding a fist and saying “That damn Olbermann…I KNEW letting him in the back door was a mistake.”

Why? Not because I think Keith necessarily dropped any hints in Dan’s ear that he should leave. But because I find myself wondering exactly how much Dan, the Loyal Company Man, the man who could have retired from ESPN with a gold watch if he wanted to, found himself reexamining his life merely by being once again in regular contact with Keith at a time when Keith was achieving unprecedented success in his life after ESPN.

When Keith first left, the morality tale seemed obvious. It was the story of the Prodigal Son, who was going to abandon his “family” out of some vague sense of discontent, wander the world, try to find a better life, squander his talents and skills, and most likely end up either crawling back home on hands and knees begging to be taken back, or end up coming to no decent end. Meanwhile, Dan, the Good Son, was going to stay home and continue to tend the family farm and keep everyone, including himself, happy.

But how did that story really end, anyway?

As Keith peregrinated from MSNBC to Fox and out again to part-time work at CNN and eventually back to MSNBC on a fairly low-rated, unhyped show, there was no reason to assume that he was suddenly going to taste as much, if not more, success than he did at the zenith of his powers cohosting SportsCenter with Dan. But in the past year or so, things started to gel for Keith in a whole new way. Suddenly his ratings were up, his praises were being sung, he was the topic of one news article after another, and he was re-signing with MSNBC to the tune of more money and even more exposure. And it all happened while Dan Patrick, loyal water carrier for the same boss for forever, sat by and watched.

I wonder how much the daily drip, drip, drip of information and publicity about the Man Who Was Saving the Democracy caused Dan to rethink his own career. Whether or not he didn’t feel just like the Good Son did when the Prodigal Son returned and Dad killed the fatted calf for him. Only in this version of the story, the prodigal didn’t return as a desperate wretch, but as a surprising success.

It’s easy to imagine Dan, a man in midlife who had become comfortable, but maybe a little too comfortable, with his job, asking himself “Is this all there is?” “Are there other things I can do?” And “How am I ever going to find out if I don’t step out of my comfort zone and step off a cliff like Keith did?”

Keith may not have said a word to Dan to provoke any of this. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if, when these thoughts ran through Dan’s head, he didn’t first share them with Keith. Maybe even before admitting them to his own wife. What if I do what you did, Keith? What if I decide to take the chance? Am I being an idiot, throwing away everything I’ve built up over 18 years? Or is it worth it, just so I find out what could have been if I hadn’t stayed safe? And if I do it, what do I say when people come up to me and yell “You idiot, why on earth did you quit every man’s dream job?”

It’s tough for anyone, especially a man with a wife and children who count on him, to make a midlife job or employer change. It’s even tougher when he’s worked for so long in the same place. And tougher yet when he’s not being forced into it, but choosing it, so that everyone questions his sanity. And tougher still when he doesn’t even have a new job lined up. Being Dan Patrick probably doesn’t make it a whole lot easier, famous name and likely financial cushion aside.

But I have faith in Dan. He’s got talent, he’s got likability, he’s got what it takes and he can take it many places. I could see him hosting his own syndicated talk show, for example, and not just on sports. Or even a network show. Men and women would watch him. I think his opportunities are wide open.

Now he won’t have to be nagged by the question “What if?” anymore. And wherever he goes, whatever he does, he’ll have the comfort of knowing that when he does so, he’ll do it with the full support of a guy who knows exactly what it’s like to hear the words “You CHOSE to leave ESPN? Why????”

God bless ya, Dan. I’ll be watching to see what happens.

And damn, is it going to be a blowout of a going-away party or what?

Maybe I’m dreaming, but I recall a recent exchange between Dan and Keith regarding career moves. I think Dan joked about all of Keith’s professional reincarnations and KO responded with “Yeah, and you’ve been here, here, and here.” Not necessarily with that tone, but at some point the issue was brought up. Perhaps this would support the notion that Dan had a powwow with Keith before considering/making the decision? I suppose we’ll never know.

Maybe they are rubbing off on each other.
(and I swear I don’t mean anything dirty.)
Um. Mostly.
Site looks better than I hoped for, everyone.

I agree with Orinenglish on this. All day I was thinking “I bet KO influenced this”, even if not intentionally. I also thought of two additional possibilities. First, that Keith had told Dan he could not do the Big Show come the fall once he starts the football gig and that influenced Dan that this was a good time to end the show, and also that possibly Keith has some connections outside of sports (maybe MSNBC but also other places) that Dan has spoken with so DP knows he is marketable and was more secure in making the leap.

I will really miss the Big Show. And not just as an ERT recapper. :(

Erica, you are right on the money; recently on the show, Keith DID gently needle Dan about having had only one employer his whole life. I wondered at the time where that came from. They must have been talking about it behind the scenes, as Dan bounced the pros and cons of leaving or staying off his friend.

And Orinenglish, your theory regarding Keith’s influence, whether active or passive, exactly matches mine. In fact, during the past few days, as rumors of Dan’s departure have been flying, I’ve been concerned that fans of Dan’s show would blame KO if Dan actually DID decide to call it quits at ESPN. You could make that case from the faintly envious comments (predictably masked by humor) that Dan has dropped from time to time, about how Keith doesn’t need him any more, he’s off “saving the democracy,” about his girl, etc. Keith’s success seemed to fuel the friendly competition they’ve always had going.

Your application of the biblical tale to all this is absolutely wonderful, and I love the way you’ve written it up. It would have been intriguing enough had Keith and Dan’s case simply followed the traditional narrative, but the ironies in THIS version of the peregrinating prodigal parable make it even more so!

I would be tremendously surprised if the regular presence of Keith as an example of What Could Be had no influence on Dan’s decision.

And I would not be the least bit surprised if whatever Dan does next doesn’t have to do with sports, per se. (As Keith warned, going up against The Worldwide Leader in that area really IS like throwing your used gum at a battleship.) I see no reason why he should be limited, or should limit himself, to the sports arena. In fact, I would have said to him if he asked me about it (which he wouldn’t have), “If all you want is to do something different in sports, try to do it within ESPN. You’re already there, they’ll already bend over backwards for you, and there’s no better place to do it from. In fact, don’t consider leaving ESPN unless you want to try something NOT related to sports.”

I guess we’ll just have to watch and see.

I’m wondering if Sirius won’t snap him up.

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