Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo might work for ESPN, but don’t expect him to pretend like he enjoys watching Jason Kelce on Monday Night Countdown.
Russo made his regular weekly appearance on First Take Wednesday morning. And during a conversation about Travis Kelce’s slow start to the NFL season, Russo noted how much he dislikes the Kelce brothers’ $100 million New Heights podcast. But that’s not the only media gripe Russo has with the Kelce brothers.
ESPN execs gotta love Dog complaining about seeing too much of Jason Kelce on ESPN.
“They put him in the booth in the Philadelphia game against Atlanta!” pic.twitter.com/4X93OUEzT4
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 25, 2024
“They’re gonna get mad at me,” Russo began. “I’m gonna say it anyway because I feel like it. I’m in one of those moods. I think we’ve all seen plenty of Jason Kelce in the last few weeks, would you agree?”
Awkward! ESPN might love Russo’s honesty when it comes to sports takes, but they probably would have preferred if he kept this one to himself, or at least his SiriusXM Radio show.
It’s one thing to criticize Kelce on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown. It’s another to criticize Kelce on ESPN while you’re on ESPN. The comment garnered quick rebuttals from Molly Qerim and Jeff Saturday, both seemingly recognizing who signs their checks. Stephen A. Smith similarly chimed in to note he happens to “like Jason Kelce a great deal.”
“Yes or no?!” Dog pressed, attempting to get Smith to say whether he’s seen too much Jason Kelce in recent weeks. “Yes or no?! They put him in the booth in the Philadelphia game against Atlanta! Yes or no?!”
With Dog ripping Kelce on ESPN and imploring First Take’s superstar to join in, Smith responded like a true politician.
“He’s a new star to the network,” Smith said of Kelce. “I’m very proud of him and I’m happy to see him.”
Many Non-Philadelphia sports fans agreed with Dog last week, believing ESPN turned their Eagles-Falcons matchup on Monday Night Football into a sort of Jason Kelce Appreciation Night. But those complaints weren’t coming from Kelce’s ESPN colleagues, at least not until Dog showed up to First Take this week.
