Big Ben to take on Shaq-zilla Friday in Ambridge
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Opportunity didn't need to knock very loudly for Ambridge Area High School athletic director Randy Cosgrove to answer.
"Actually," he said. "It was a no-brainer."
On Friday, Ambridge's Moe Rubenstein Stadium will host a taping of "Shaq Vs.", a new reality show, which will premiere on ABC at 9 p.m. Aug. 18. It features NBA center Shaquille O'Neal stepping out of his comfort zone of basketball and challenging other high-profile athletes in competition in which they are most noted for.
In the taping at Ambridge, O'Neal will challenge Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in a football competition.
The taping is free and open to the public, Cosgrove said, and will be limited to about 7,500 fans. The gates will open at 5 p.m. with taping scheduled to start about 6 p.m. No cameras or cell phones will be allowed.
While Ambridge is not permitted to charge an admittance fee, the school will be allowed to open its concession stands and also is receiving an undisclosed rental fee for the stadium from the production company.
On top of that, Ambridge will have representatives accepting donations at the event for their football booster association -- the Ambridge Quarterback Club -- and also for a fund that will go toward buying PIAA championship rings for the girls' volleyball team, which won the title last year.
So why was Ambridge picked as the venue?
"I was just approached by a production company in Los Angeles about a week-and-a-half ago, and I was told it was because we have a new stadium that they felt would be a great place for this specific taping," said Cosgrove, who is also the public address announcer for Steelers games at Heinz Field. "They asked me if we would be interested and, there was a very small window in which we needed to answer. I said, 'Yes,' immediately because I knew this was a great opportunity and there are 135 other schools in this area that would probably love to have Shaquille O'Neal and Ben Roethlisberger competing at one of their venues. I am sure my position as the public address announcer didn't hurt, but in all honesty, it came down to our facility much more than anything else."
In addition to Roethlisberger, over the course of the series at tapings elsewhere, O'Neal will challenge Olympic champion Michael Phelps in swimming, Wimbledon champion Serena Williams in tennis, Oscar de la Hoya in boxing; St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols in baseball, and two-time Olympic gold medalists Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor in beach volleyball.
Cosgrove spent part of today in production meetings and said it has been a whirlwind of work.
"But, you know, this is something that comes around just once," he said. "All the work is worth it. When they ask you to do something like this, you have to, because it brings such a positive light and national scope to Ambridge."
First Published July 20, 2009 2:53 pm
