The entertainment world is filled with dynamic duos: Batman and Robin, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Penn and Teller, and Sherlock Holmes and Watson.
Poker's nomination for this legendary club is easy: McEachern and Chad.
For more than two decades, the poker world has had its own iconic crusaders in Norman Chad and Lon McEachern, both of whom have left a lasting mark on the game.
Their odd-couple pairing — a smooth-talking broadcaster and a sarcastic sports journalist — is inextricably linked with Chris Moneymaker's win in 2003 and the subsequent poker boom.
The Moneymaker effect
During post-production on those early broadcasts in 2003, neither Lon nor Norman expected the ESPN shows — nor Moneymaker's improbable run — to ignite a poker boom that would permanently change the game. Yet, that is precisely what happened, inspiring a new generation of poker players along the way.
“I had no idea that Chris would have such staying power in terms of continuing to play poker at a pretty high level and being an incredible ambassador for the game,” says Chad. “He’s smart, funny, and engaging. He’s just been as good as you could get over the past 20-plus years for a guy who was just a 27-year-old accountant from Tennessee who'd never played in a tournament before in Las Vegas.”
Will ESPN's return spark another poker boom?
Now that ESPN has returned as a broadcast partner for the WSOP Main Event, many are hopeful it will once again bring poker to the mainstream and attract new players to our beloved game.
This raises a key question: What do Norman and Lon think the impact will be? Will this media move spark a wave of participation reminiscent of the passion Moneymaker brought to the game in 2003?
“Being on ESPN is exciting,” says McEachern. “There's going to be new avenues for people to be entertained by the World Series of Poker. Just seeing the reactions on social media has been wonderful. People are saying, ‘You guys are back on ESPN; that's going to be great.’ But who knows about a boom again or anything like that this time around. But there will definitely be more eyeballs on the Main Event and really raising the bar.”
Meanwhile, this summer, Norman has been popping up on the WSOP Countdown show, ranting, raving, and joining in the pre-stream previews over the past few weeks.
We asked Norman what coverage of this year's Main Event will look like.
“We're going to have the Main Event live-streamed on the ESPN app for 13 straight days, something like eight hours a day. Then we will have a live final table on ESPN or ESPN2, with six post-produced shows leading up to it. All of this puts us back into the mainstream because of the ESPN presence, where we haven't been for the last five years due to a paywall.”
The Interview — Norman Chad & Lon McEachern
Highlights from our exclusive in-depth conversation with Norman and Lon include:
- How Lon and Norman first met.
- Whether they are stalked by overzealous fans.
- Whether ESPN's return could spark another poker boom.
- What their roles at this year's WSOP will look like.
- How Norman really feels about Moneymaker as a player and ambassador.
Watch Norman and Lon’s full interview with PokerOrg’s Craig Tapscott in the video above, or listen now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Check out more in-depth interviews with some of poker’s biggest names below, including Esther ‘Etay’ Taylor, Chris Moneymaker, and Daniel Negreanu.
