‘3SPN': Network Uses Hilarious Inside Joke to Honor Buffalo’s Hamlin
In the aftermath of the incident involving Buffalo Bills' safety Damar Hamlin last week, the world has been finding creative ways to acknowledge and honor him as he continues his recovery.
This past weekend in the NFL, hundreds of players and coaches were seen wearing "Love for Damar" t-shirts, with his jersey No. 3 emblazoned on the front of them. Fans brought signs with them to NFL stadiums to show their support, and teams put loving messages on their stadium video boards before their games began.
Not to be outdone, however, the Worldwide Leader in Sports took their own unique approach at acknowledging Hamlin on their telecast this weekend. Did you pick up on it?
ESPN "Flips" Logo to Create Unique Tribute to Recovering Damar Hamlin
A few particularly observant football fans noticed a small change to the standard ESPN NFL broadcast this past weekend. The personnel remained the same; broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, and reporters Lisa Salters and John Sutcliffe were all present on-screen.
Each of the four commentators were holding microphones, with the ESPN logo shown on the microphone flag on the front. As some began to pick up on, however, something about those microphones looked a bit different:
As it turns out, ESPN had made the choice to flip the microphone flags upside down, turning the "E" of their legendary logo into a "3" for all to see. The logo remained that way for the entirety of the broadcast, including sideline interviews:
Of course, the status of Damar Hamlin was a consistent theme throughout the broadcast on ESPN, but the broadcasters had to focus on the game in front of them, as well. This was a creative way for ESPN to maintain focus on the game that was being played, while also acknowledging that some things happening that week were larger than sports.
Players, coaches and fans have gone above-and-beyond in showing their support for Damar Hamlin, his immediate family, and his family with the Buffalo Bills. Aside from the signs and t-shirts that have been on display, fans donated more than $8 million to Hamlin's charitable GoFundMe page in the span of one week to show support for the 24-year old.
It was a terrifying scene that unfolded one week ago in Cincinnati, but in the aftermath of a near-tragedy, the sports world has united to support Damar Hamlin in a way that we do not often see.