2024 Images of the Year: Gary and Randy’s Grand Adventure
The 7th Annual Awards
- Best Original Film or Series: Short-Form
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
"Gary and Randy’s Grand Adventure” was a unique and innovative approach to SportsCenter’s annual “Images of the Year” element. Instead of just showing montages of the best plays and moments of the sports year, our goal was to create a fun story throughout to connect those images. By doing so, we hoped the piece would resonate with a larger audience, who would be informed by remembering the year's top moments while entertained by the story.
How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?
This is not a typical feature with interviews and narration, but it still tells a great story—the story of 2024 in sports. From back-to-back champions and breaking news to walk-off home runs and half-court buzzer beaters, from Patrick Mahomes and Shohei Ohtani to Caitlin Clark and Simone Biles, this piece has it all.
"Gary and Randy’s Grand Adventure” presents a complete look at the year in sports and does so in a fun and entertaining way that also makes reference to other pop culture moments of the year like the solar eclipse, Dead and Company playing the Sphere, and Moo Deng the baby hippo.
This is a one-of-a-kind feature that connects sports, comedy, and entertainment.
Objective
"Gary and Randy’s Grand Adventure” was a unique and innovative approach to SportsCenter’s annual “Images of the Year” element. Instead of just showing montages of the best plays and moments of the sports year, our goal was to create a fun story throughout to connect those images. By doing so, we hoped the piece would resonate with a larger audience, who would be informed by seeing all the moments but also entertained by the story.
Strategy & Execution
We decided on a road trip as our creative vehicle because we felt showing the best sports moments in each region of the country and around the world would be a unique way to bring the images together. Once we cast SportsCenter anchors Gary Striewski and Randy Scott as our characters, the piece became not just a road trip story, but a buddy comedy that raised the entertainment value substantially. We scripted scenes for them that advanced the story of their trip but also made sense in the context of the sports images, and in some cases directly connected to them. We accomplished this through their costumes, such as Celtics and Chiefs gear following those championships, and through various props visible in the van.
Organizations
- ESPN
- SportsCenter Enhancement Unit (SCEU)
- Fresh Features
Links
Featured
- Randy Scott
- Gary Striewski
Credits
Julie McGlone
Executive Producer
ESPN
Mike Foss
Executive Producer
ESPN
Ben Hobbs
SCEU Manager
ESPN
Temi Anjou
SCEU Manager
ESPN
Daniel Barletta
Producer
ESPN
Blake Grudzien
Producer
ESPN
Nick Mainville
Supervising Video Editor
ESPN
David Jaunai
Sound Designer/Mixer
ESPN
Andy Sharp
Lead Colorist
ESPN
Danielle Gansert
SCEU Production Coordinator
ESPN
Erika Vingiano
SCEU Production Coordinator
ESPN
Manoj Gopinath
Music Supervisor
ESPN
Ian Shoioshan-Stoller
Music Coordinator
ESPN
Laura Frometa
Music Coordinator
ESPN
Matt Allen
Director
Fresh Features
Tom Furcillo
Director, Photography
Fresh Features
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 7th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 24, 2025 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
