So this whole thing started when I was watching an NBA game on TV last night, right? That super catchy ESPN theme music kicked in – you know the one, super hype, makes you wanna jump up. Got me thinking, “Man, who actually made that banger?” I realized I had zero clue. Like, everyone knows the tune, but nobody knows the guy behind it. Weird.
Down the Rabbit Hole I Go
Figured it should be easy. Fired up my laptop this morning, coffee in hand, feeling optimistic. Typed stuff like “nba espn theme composer” into the search bar. Bam! Tons of results… but mostly just people asking the same question on forums, or links talking about the music being iconic. No straight answer. Annoying.
Clicked through maybe ten pages. Found articles mentioning how popular it is, how long it’s been used, even breakdowns of the music itself – the instruments, the tempo. Cool info, sure, but still dancing around the main dude responsible. Starting to feel like I was hitting a wall.
The Breakthrough (Almost)
Changed my search. Tried “who created the espn nba theme music”. Scrolled a bit further down this time. Finally! Saw a forum post buried deep – someone casually dropped a name: John Reilly. Huh? Never heard of him. Felt kinda random, but hey, a lead! Quickly added his name to the search.
Oh yeah, that was it. Articles finally popped up talking about John Reilly, this composer guy. Turns out, he wrote the original ESPN NBA theme ages ago, back in 2002. Mind kinda blown it was that old! Apparently, he’s done tons of stuff for sports broadcasts – hockey, football, you name it. Dude’s a machine.
- Composed the Theme: Wrote the iconic version everyone associates with NBA on ESPN. That hype intro? Yep, him.
- Part of a Music House: Did this work as part of a company called Fitzgerald Hartley back then. Seems they specialized in making these TV jingles and themes.
- Beyond Just Hoops: His tunes aren’t just for basketball. Found out he’s scored a ton of other sports moments too, his music popping up everywhere. This NBA theme is just his biggest hit.
Felt pretty satisfied. Mystery solved! Shared my little discovery with my buddy over text. He was like, “No way, really? Cool!” Mission accomplished, right?
The Weird Twist I Didn’t See Coming
But here’s the funny part. Getting so deep into digging up John Reilly’s story made me remember something… kinda personal and annoying. See, back when I was just starting out trying to get freelance work, maybe 5 years ago? I applied for this music editing gig I found online. Sounded promising.
Did the whole thing: phone interview, sent samples, they seemed keen. Told me I’d hear back in a week. Radio silence. Emailed them twice, nada. Then, like three months later, outta nowhere, get this: a short, cold email. “Project dissolved. Position closed. Thanks.” That was it! Just ghosted me after making it seem like a done deal.
Wanna know the kicker? Who was listed on the email signature? Some senior producer dude… at Fitzgerald Hartley. Yeah, the SAME music house John Reilly worked with on that NBA theme. Small damn world. Still kinda pisses me off thinking about how unprofessional that whole thing was. Guess researching old ESPN themes brought up old work scars too! Life’s funny like that.