SNL has had many classic sports-themed sketches over the years such as "Synchronized Swimming", "United Way" with Peyton Manning, and "Figure Skating Cold Open" with Jason Priestley. With the NBA returning to NBC this fall, this seems like the right time to revisit SNL's "Roundball Rock" sketch.
"Roundball Rock", written by John Tesh, was the theme song for NBA on NBC from 1990, when they acquired the rights to the NBA from CBS, until 2002, when it decided to give up the rights as it was losing money on NBA coverage.
The story of how Tesh came up with the music is fascinating. According to Tesh, the tune came to him in the middle of the night while he was covering the Tour de France in 1989 and, with no other way to save the song in order to remember it, he called his home answering machine and himself a message singing the tune. When he returned home, he went to the studio, recorded the song and sent it in to NBC executives. The rest is history.
This hilarious SNL sketch, however, presents an alternative take on the origin story. In this version, John Tesh arrives at "NBC Sports Offices" in 1990 for the "Roundball Rock" pitch meeting with his brother Dave. According to John, the song started as one of Dave's poems. As they perform the song for NBC executives, it becomes painfully obvious that the words are repetitive and a bad fit for the music, and some conflict arises when NBC proposes a deal to buy the song without the lyrics.
The lyrics to this version of "Roundball Rock", however, are so unforgettable that you almost wish they were part of the song.
"Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-basketball, gimme, gimme, gimme the ball because I'm gonna DUNK IT!"
The sketch stars cast members Jason Sudeikis as John Tesh and Tim Robinson as his brother Dave. Both of them have come a long way since this sketch originally aired back in 2013. Jason Sudeikis went on to play Ted Lasso, winning several awards, while Robinson became the star of his own Netflix comedy show "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson". For our money, this is some of Robinson's best work.
Also starring in this sketch is guest host Vince Vaughn and SNL cast members Kenan Thompson and Kate McKinnon, who play the NBC executives.
[SNL]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
