(CP) - Hardcore fans often say they'd do anything to have an ultimate sports fantasy fulfilled. Now, they'll have their chance to prove it.
Fans who have dreamed of helping a friend or loved one earn a tee time with Tiger Woods, hang out with an NFL team or qualify as a contestant in the World Series of Poker are given the opportunity to do so in the reality show I'd Do Anything. The eight-week series debuts Monday (7:30 p.m. EST).
In the ultimate act of sports altruism, each hour-long episode features three contestants who take part in gruelling - and unusual - tasks for the chance to earn sports fantasies for someone close to them.
Competitions include playing basketball with wild Mexican bulls, completing an obstacle course atop a moving train, and making a punt return - without blockers - against a pro football team.
Those dreams come at a cost to contestants, who face ridicule, shame and demanding physical contests. In Monday's first episode, one competitor winds up in the hospital after getting rammed by a bull. Bloodied and bruised, he returns to competition just in time for the next challenge: writing and singing a sports-related song at an actual wedding. In a powder-blue tuxedo, no less.
The fantasies themselves are wide in scope: One contestant, Yvette Burgess, competes for the chance to have her 16-year-old son meet skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Another, Wayne Bradford, battles for the opportunity to see his best friend - former Toronto Argonauts receiver Lal Knight - earn an NFL tryout.
Unfortunately for viewers, they don't get to see the winners receive their fantasies at the end of the show.
The series is the latest attempt to bring reality television to the sports world, following in the footsteps of Beg, Borrow and Deal, Fox's boxing series The Next Great Champ and the hockey show Making the Cut. Ratings for all three shows were far below expectations: The Next Great Champ was cancelled after four episodes while Making the Cut fell well short of its projected audience totals.
I'd Do Anything, which is based on the British series of the same name, is hosted by George Gray, whose previous hosting credits include Weakest Link and Junkyard Wars.
The Canadian Press, 2005
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