With it being 8/8, ESPN has gone to “The Ocho” branding for ESPN2 for the second-straight year, turning a joke from the 2004 film DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story into a real thing. The whole day will see ESPN2 showing obscure sports, from spikeball to the U.S. Open Ultimate Championships to brat-eating, cornhole, kabbadi and hurling. And of course there’s dodgeball, both normal and on trampolines. It’s the latter, from the recent (last week) Skyzone Ultimate Dodgeball Championships, that produced this highlight of two players being knocked out by a single throw:
Two knockouts on one throw!
It's already lit on #TheOcho 🔥 pic.twitter.com/POBzkeHaXg
— ESPN (@espn) August 8, 2018
I think there’s an appropriate DodgeBall GIF here:
https://twitter.com/keeennyboyyy/status/1027077539544457217
That’s a cool highlight in and of itself, but it’s also interesting that it was tweeted from the main ESPN account (which has a modest 33.6 million followers, and where they’ve changed the profile picture to an Ocho logo). That speaks to the amount of play ESPN is giving this “Ocho” branding day, and it’s notable that many of their social accounts and personalities have already been promoting this:
The schedule for ESPN8: The Ocho is STACKED. pic.twitter.com/xxHKLzMIsR
— ESPN (@espn) August 1, 2018
How does @ESPN select the sports that appear In #TheOcho lineup? https://t.co/53Y5QJC2wL pic.twitter.com/yo4y7eKmh1
— ESPN Front Row (@ESPNFrontRow) August 1, 2018
Highlight plays are made on ESPN and ESPN2. Legends are made on ESPN The Ocho. https://t.co/3V1LnKJuJQ
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 1, 2018
.@MGolicJR57 and @jasonfitz demonstrate ping pong as the countdown to @ESPN's #TheOcho 8/8 continues @ittfworld https://t.co/Ek0X77LzZS pic.twitter.com/KC4FUToq7D
— ESPN Front Row (@ESPNFrontRow) August 4, 2018
Three days until #TheOcho returns to ESPN and our ace publicist on the project @kimelchlepp prepped by attending the @WorldDodgeballA World Cup in NYC this wknd. Tune in all day Wed on ESPN2. It's gonna be fun. https://t.co/nJBGAl18UR
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) August 5, 2018
When the clock strikes 12, The Ocho 8/8/18 begins. The “absurdity olympics” on ESPN2. Full 24-hour schedule: https://t.co/E4RJfIa6T2 https://t.co/T2qy8jOo5X
— Mike Soltys (@MichaelJSoltys) August 8, 2018
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: ESPN2 has just become ESPN 8: The Ocho for the next 24 hours. I’ve already set my alarm for the Krystal World Hamburger Eating Championship at 6:30 AM ET. pic.twitter.com/GNbOtsqHUH
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) August 8, 2018
Embrace #TheOcho. Hey, it has to be better than Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman yelling at each other, right?
[ESPN on Twitter]
It’s already lit on the ocho might be the funniest thing I’ve read in sports for 2018
We don’t think it’s funny-WFTDA
Hush…
Maybe next year the concept can be added to include Obscure Sports Quarterly references.