ESPN’s Derek Jeter docuseries The Captain is finally about to be released.
Long in the works (we’ve covered it for months now at various points), The Captain is the latest example of the deep-dive documentary trend focusing on one legendary player discussing his career. It premieres on ESPN and ESPN+ July 18th, the night of the MLB Home Run Derby, which means the promotional cycle is in full swing.
That includes one conspicuously placed billboard outside Fenway Park.
This billboard for "The Captain" outside of Fenway Park 👀
"The Captain" begins July 18 on ESPN/ESPN+ 📺
(h/t @pamsson) pic.twitter.com/D4d1tFpE7Z
— ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) July 4, 2022
Obviously Jeter’s relationship with the Boston Red Sox was as an antagonist, although Fenway itself was the site of his final career appearance, an infield RBI single.
That said, it is highly amusing to see an ESPN billboard promoting a Jeter-centric project outside the home of the Red Sox. That’s some quality trolling, the sort of which don’t see nearly enough anymore.
Is anyone who saw that billboard in Boston likely to tune in for the premiere because of it? Maybe! The Red Sox were also highly relevant throughout a lot of Jeter’s career, and those teams will almost certainly get a long look as well as part of the process. (As an Indiana Pacers fan, I felt similarly about sections of The Last Dance, for example.) Plus, honestly, the Jeter-era Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is almost an ESPN era of its own, as often as those two teams played (impossibly long) games on Sunday Night Baseball.
All that said, the juxtaposition of that advertisement with its location is great. More harmless trolling, please.
[image via ESPN+/pamsson on Twitter]
