How ESPN came to cover the Hershey Bears Teddy Bear Toss
As 45-thousand teddy bears rained down on Giant Center’s ice on a Sunday night in early December, a small crew from ESPN was capturing the event for E:60. Eleven months earlier, a conversation between one of my father’s former interns and me sparked a year-long journey that created one of the most magnificent pieces of storytelling that Hershey Bears fans will ever see.
Back in 1996, Palmyra native Ben Houser was an intern at WHTM-TV in Harrisburg. My father, former abc27 Sports Director Gregg Mace, worked with Houser as he began his journey in sports broadcasting. Soon after, Houser graduated from Elizabethtown College and went to ESPN to start his 23-year career with the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
Now an Executive Producer on ESPN’s newsmagazine show E:60, Houser has been a family friend and consulted me on many projects throughout my career. One piece Houser provided his wisdom and knowledge on was the Behind the Scenes with the Hershey Bears Equipment team that Chocolate Hockey released in February 2019.
During a phone call in January 2019 to discuss that piece, Houser mentioned Hershey’s Teddy Bear Toss. “I learned of the Teddy Bear Toss a few years ago when clips started making their way onto the national stage and SportsCenter,” said Houser. “I learned Hershey had a huge teddy bear toss number in 2018, and knew we had to find out the inside story.”
As Hershey finalized their 2019-20 promotional schedule, my father and I made sure to get Houser and Bears Manager of Media Relations and Broadcasting Zack Fisch in contact with each other. Then, with the Teddy Bear Toss approaching in December, Houser assigned producer Scott Cikowski to the piece.
“I remember seeing the Teddy Bear Toss for the first time on SportsCenter in 2018,” said Cikowski. “The visuals were stunning but I didn’t know much about the actual event.”
Tasked with finding the pulse of the story, Cikowski went to work on researching all aspects of the Teddy Bear Toss. “The first thing I did when planning the execution for this piece was ask questions. What are the origins of the event? What happens on the day of the event? How did Hershey come to break the record? Who are the people that make this event special? Where do these Bears go after leaving the ice?
“So much of what I found online were the viral videos posted by each team but I wanted to try and tell the story behind those videos.”
One of the driving forces behind Hershey’s Teddy Bear raising efforts is Gabby Kerchner, who helped to organize the efforts of collecting ten-thousand bears on her own in 2019. Quickly, ESPN recognized her efforts as well and made sure to include her story in the piece.
“I am so proud of Scott,” Houser remarked. “He captured this story through Gabby. Scott recognized that this young ten year old girl is the driving force behind the Hershey Teddy Bear Toss. She is the real star here, and she will inspire millions and continue making the world a better place. I have two daughters of my own, and Gabby has already inspired them.”
Cikowski and the E:60 crew didn’t just capture Gabby’s story, but also the stunning visuals that come with the Teddy Bear Toss. “All I can say is that I’m happy that we had a slow motion camera with us, because if you blinked you could have missed something,” Cikowski mentioned.
Legendary ESPN hockey analyst and former Adirondack Red Wing Barry Melrose narrated the piece for ESPN. “It’s not just the smell of chocolate that makes Hershey the sweetest city in the world. It’s the fact that the people who live there, found a way to get 40 thousand Teddy Bears into the hands of children who need a hug,” commented Melrose.
On a personal level, this piece is something that will be with me for the rest of my life. I had the chance to visit ESPN on January 23 – exactly two months after my father’s passing.
“Nobody loved sports and the Bears more than Gregg,” said Houser. “It was a part of him. Gregg’s infectious zeal for sports and his constant positive approach match the elements of this story. I got to learn from the best.”
So did I. Thank you Ben, Scott, ESPN, and dad.
For those that missed the piece, ESPN has released it on their E:60 Twitter page. You can watch the full thing below.
