U.S. Olympian Missy Franklin will star in a new FOX TV special called “Beat the Champions,” which will pit her and two other professional athletes against amateur challengers in handicapped competitions.
Franklin will join New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and former Chicago Bulls forward Scottie Pippen in the one-hour television event Tuesday, June 30th.
The show, hosted by comedian Finesse Mitchell, pits amateur athletes “with big egos and big dreams” (according to the FOX site) against Franklin, Gronkowski and Pippen in various competitions. But to level the playing field, FOX also teases that “the champs will be faced with increasingly absurd and hilarious disadvantages, while the amateurs will be given increasing levels of assistance to beat their elite competition.”
The amateurs will have chances to win cash prizes up to $100,000, but the more handicaps and assistance they require, the less money they’ll earn, according to TV Grapevine.
You can check out the promo video above, courtesy of the FOX YouTube page.
This is one of the early steps for Franklin in cashing in on her huge public profile. Franklin just turned pro last spring after remaining an amateur to swim for her high school and then for two seasons with the University of California. The 20-year-old Franklin is one of the hottest names in sports right now, recently ranked the 4th-most marketable athlete in the world over the next three years.
She also signed her first major endorsement deal earlier this month, joining Speedo’s list of sponsored athletes.
You can catch Franklin’s television premier Tuesday night, June 30th at 9:00 PM Eastern, 8:00 PM Central or 10:00 PM Pacific on FOX. Franklin seems a perfect fit for the show’s format, with the ability to talk a little smack without dropping her trademark bubbliness. Plus, it’s hard to imagine any interaction between Franklin and the Super Bowl-winning goofball Gronkowski coming out anything but entertaining.
“Harrison Bergeron” anyone?
Gronkowski and Missy are about the only two people that would make me take a peak at Fox. I can’t wait!!
They don’t care why , only that you tune in . Enjoy being a viewer statistic for their next corporate report .
Merde ! Bobo will have to watch Fox .
I wonder if Gronkowski and Pippen know how to swim?
I have a feeling the segments were all taped at different locations/times, so odds are Franklin, Gronk and Pippen never actually met for this.
Which is unfortunate, Missy should be more like Gronk. Everybody should be more like Gronk.
> “Everybody should be more like Gronk.”
I wholeheartedly support this philosophy.
I wanted them to meet, too – but mainly because everybody should be more like Missy.