Before the coronavirus reared its head in the U.S., spending this much time near the television might have sounded appealing to sports fans.
But then sports went, too, with covid-19 pressing the pause button indefinitely on most nonessential functions nationwide.
The country is hungry for sports. And nobody — including athletes and league executives — knows when it will be safe for them to return.
ESPN helped fill the void Sunday, airing the first two episodes of “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary series focused on Michael Jordan and the iconic Chicago Bulls teams he led six times to the NBA championship, in particular the 1997-98 squad.
It wasn’t live sports. It wasn’t even current sports. But fans didn’t mind.
The network reported the premiere averaged 6.1 million viewers, according to CNN Business, making it the most-viewed ESPN documentary ever. It had originally been scheduled to begin airing in June but was moved up in response to the pandemic.
"The Last Dance" numbers blew away even the most optimistic projections. Episode 1 averaged 6.3 million viewers and Episode 2 averaged 5.8 million viewers across ESPN & ESPN2.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) April 20, 2020
The NBA playoffs would have begun Saturday. Instead, as with Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, the wait continues.
Some took the opportunity to reaffirm Jordan as the greatest to ever lace them up.
Michael Jordan’s Last Dance was fantastic and I loved all two hours of it!! Young fans that never got to see Michael play now understand why he’s the ? of basketball!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 20, 2020
According to the New York Post, the initial episodes were the most-watched programs among viewers 18-34 and 18-49 since leagues paused their seasons in March. And it was ESPN’s most-watched program since LSU won the national title over Clemson in the college football title game in January.
I could’ve watched all 10 episodes right now.
— Zach LaVine (@ZachLaVine) April 20, 2020
The series gives homebound sports fans something to look forward to through May 17, with two episodes airing on ESPN every Sunday. Episodes 3 and 4 will air this weekend beginning at 9 p.m.
Episodes 1 and 2 are available on ESPN’s mobile app.
