It’s difficult to accept that it’s going to be gone. After 23 years and almost 5,000 episodes, Around the Horn, ESPN’s daily studio debate show will be no more, signing off for the final time on Friday evening after being cancelled by the network.
The show’s “Final Face Time” on Wednesday was a testament to everything the show has meant to not only its panelists, but all of us.
Around the Horn was more than just talking heads screaming hot takes at each other. It was more than a show you’d put on to unwind after a rough day, or casually glance while at the gym. It was groundbreaking programming that turned the regional into the national, pulling sports writers from around the country away from their desks and giving them a spotlight. It helped define blending entertainment with statistics, a place charismatic analytics nerds could shine — all while channeling our inner debate team to imagine what we’d say on that set when posed with some of sport’s biggest questions.
It also made careers. The above clip highlighted a beautiful message from Harry Lyles, a man I was lucky enough to call a coworker and friend for years here at SB Nation before he took an opportunity at ESPN. We all knew Harry was destined for greatness. His sports knowledge was matched only by his effortless charisma — he just needed a vehicle for the world to see it. Around the Horn was that place. It served as that place for dozens and dozens of writers.
Not only did Around the Horn launch careers, but it broke down barriers. From its inception it allowed for the utter brilliance of Jackie MacMullan to shine beyond her reach in Boston to a nationwide audience. At a time where not nearly enough women were represented in sports broadcasting, MacMullan broke rhetorical ankles on a nightly basis, tying opposing debaters in knots with her knowledge. The show allowed MacMullan to show a generation of women that not only did they deserve to be on that stage, but they could absolutely dominate.
The list of staggering Around the Horn alumni is second to none. From OGs like Woody Paige, Tim Cowlishaw , and Bill Plaschke, to the new generation of Pablo S. Torre, Michael Smith, Sarah Spain, and Mina Kimes. All absolutely brilliant writers, analysts, and ball-knowers — all of whom could have been easily overlooked if not for the show.
Then there was Tony Reali, one of the hardest working men in the business, who innately understood the timing of keeping the show moving and remaining entertaining — while also adjudicating the debates, ensuring they were always fun. There was true artistry behind orchestrating that, and he was the master conductor.
We truly did not deserve the embarrassment of riches Around the Horn gave us in the form of knowledge. It was the only place in the infancy of the internet that a sportswriter from Indiana could articulate the brilliance of the Pacers, which you’d then regurgitate at the office water cooler to seem like a genius. It made all of us smarter. It’s also why it couldn’t survive, not today, not in 2025.
It’s tough not to see the cancelling of Around the Horn as a canary in a coal mine. Indicative of horrors to come. Resources being further routed from intelligent, considered debate — and into the industry’s carnival barkers who value being loud with their hot takes over being nuanced or considered. A rubber stamp that instead of getting intelligent sports analysis from people who have honed their craft for years, why not give air time to an ex-player with no media experience? After all, it’s cheaper to just trade on their name.
I’ll remember Around the Horn for inspiring a sports-mad 23-year-old who was stuck in a dead-end cubicle job to not just passively watch the show as an end of day escape, but to get onto forums, and eventually the comment section of an SB Nation blog to debate out the things I cared about in sports.
Around the Horn meant so much to so many of us, and I can’t believe it’s gone. So thank you to every guest, every panelist, to the producers, and everyone behind the scenes. You gave us something wonderful — and we’re sad to see it end like this.
