While there aren’t many white whale guests left for Pardon My Take at this point, the Barstool Sports podcast had one on Friday in the form of Skip Bayless.
And while many were likely curious to see how an interview with someone who’s largely been a punchline for the show would go, it actually started with a major compliment from the former ESPN and Fox Sports star.
“I was blessed to break through in this business for the first time really in about 2010 into 2011, which was the Tim Tebow run through that NFL season. And on First Take, we started to crush. And we took over the sports media world. And then Stephen A. [Smith] joined me the following year; we took it up a level,” Bayless said. “And it dawned on me last night as I was thinking about joining you guys that you guys were in the rightest place at the rightest time and you became, if I may, Stephen A. and Skip. Like you took over as I was leaving Stephen A. to go to Fox and FS1, you guys rose to the top of the sports media world right on time.
“And so it’s bizarre to me in a surreal way that I’m on with you because I honor what you guys have achieved because I know what it feels like to be where you are now. And and I congratulate you on that. And it takes some luck — it does take some right place, right time. And you were right on schedule to do what you did in this world as I was in the linear TV world.”
Dan “Big Cat” Katz proceeded to note that PMT was aided by Bayless and Smith have “some of the dumbest debates” — a notion Bayless disagreed with.
“Would you say, ‘sometimes dumb?'” Katz asked.
“No,” Bayless said. “I can’t go ‘dumb.'”
While it was certainly kind of Bayless to come equipped with compliments, the idea of Pardon My Take being the heir apparent to Bayless and Smith’s version of First Take is a bit of a stretch. That’s not to take anything away from PMT, which is massively popular in it’s own right. But the reality is that the true successor to that iteration of First Take is the current version of the show hosted by Smith — just with a different co-host(s).
To Katz’s point, PMT was never trying to follow in First Take’s footsteps, but rather offer an alternative for listeners tired of debates such as “who would win one-on-one: Jordan or LeBron?” (Bayless still insists it’s unquestionably Jordan). Ultimately, PMT was never trying to follow in First Take‘s footsteps so much as it was parodying it, with the show’s success speaking for itself.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.