Animals

ESPN Delights the Masses by Showing Corgi Races

by Michael Walsh
Aug 24 2021 • 9:20 AM

When ESPNOpens in a new tab first launched in 1979 it didn’t exactly have the broadcast rights to America’s most popular sports. Those tuning in at the birth of the all-sports network saw a game of slo-pitch softballOpens in a new tab. That’s what it was like for ESPN during its infancy. It frequently gave its US audience sports and events they’d likely never seen beforeOpens in a new tab. That obviously changed. Now the network is a behemoth with rights to some of the biggest leagues in the world. Of which corgiOpens in a new tab racing obviously does not count. Yet, that didn’t stop ESPN from showing just that recently. Much to the delight of some very confused viewers.

Youtube Video play button

ESPN recently took a break from major professional and collegiate sports to give animal lovers everywhere a special treat. On August 6 ESPN becameOpens in a new tab “The Ocho,” the fictional bonus channel of the network seen in Dodgeball. First started in 2017Opens in a new tab, “The Ocho” lineup is a chance for ESPN to have some fun by airing some very, very obscure sports. This year that included the 2021 Corgi Races at Emerald DownsOpens in a new tab in Auburn, Washington. (Which we first heard about at NewsweekOpens in a new tab.)

Corgis racing outside on a racetrackEmerald Downs

It’s exactly what you expect from “The Ocho.” It is not what you expect when tuning into a normal day of ESPN programming. Yet that’s exactly what viewers got recently when ESPN randomly re-aired the meet. How did people tuning in react? Have you ever seen how people respond to an adorable animal video on the internet? They loved it.

Who won? All of us. But technically it was a wonderful fast little corgi named Angus. Though we think Emerald Downs should build an extra trophy for the dog in Heat #1 who took an immediate hard left when the race started.

ESPN spends an impossible amount of money on broadcast rights for the NCAA, MLB, NHL, NFL, and more. But we encourage the network to go back to its roots and embrace unusual events.

It won’t be hard to fill 24-hours of programming either. We’d love to tiny dogs of every kind hit the racetrack.