BRISTOL, CONN. — The 30-second spot is called "Dunk."
Its script has six lines of dialogue, the cast numbers seven. It stars Sparks forward Candace Parker -- she of NCAA title, Olympic gold medal, WNBA rookie of the year and MVP all-in-one-year fame. Thirty seconds, and with that, she joined what is mostly an athletic boys club whose members include ESPN "SportsCenter" anchors, athletes and a roly poly, furry, fruity collection of college mascots tapped to do wickedly funny "SportsCenter" promo spots.
Parker sees it as an honor.
When her agent, Mary Ford, called and said ESPN was interested, "I just about jumped through the phone," Parker said. "I could hardly wait."
There have been 325 spots since 1995 in what has been a wildly successful advertising series. Of that, only a handful have featured women athletes: Olympics gymnastics medalists Mary Lou Retton and Kerri Strug; college and pro basketball stars Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi; tennis pro Maria Sharapova; and Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt among them.
WNBA Commissioner Donna Orender said Parker's chance to be in one of the spots is a big deal for a league struggling to earn attention in a cluttered sports world.
"Every sport is jockeying for sponsorship and position," Orender said. "Candace is a great choice. It's the combination of her athletic excellence, her composure, her beauty, her intelligence."
That Orender used the word "beauty" wasn't accidental.
"I would say this: If a guy is good looking, that gets remarked upon," Orender said. "But it's not a secret the way she looks impacts women."
The premise of Parker's spot is that she is in the "SportsCenter" offices, an unassuming female who can dunk a basketball amid a bunch of male sports anchors who are all wannabe slammers.
Guys like Stuart Scott, Brian Kenny, Jay Harris, Scott Van Pelt and Neil Everett are wearing "strength shoes," a clumsy contraption that has an extra platform near the toe. The shoe's point is to develop calf strength. Its effect is to make the men clumsy oafs as Parker floats through the room.
The spot is introduced by anchor Hannah Storm saying: "As one of the first professional women basketball players to dunk, Candace Parker is a true inspiration. Not just for women around the office, but for men too."
There is a shot of Van Pelt trying to walk in the cafeteria while balancing his tray and almost falling. There is another of Harris and Parker walking down a hallway. Harris trips and falls and Parker reaches down to help Harris to his feet.
