Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo knows Stephen A. Smith revitalized his career, but he still brings something to First Take that ESPN was lacking.
Russo was The Main Event on Andrew Marchand’s sports media podcast this week. And after running through his Hall-of-Fame radio career, Marchand asked about the career renaissance he’s enjoying at ESPN. According to Russo, there was a void on First Take for a media personality like himself.
“This is where I give Stephen A. credit,” Russo said. “In the sports media business right now, it’s much more athlete oriented. And the place – and I mean this sincerely – for the old white guy, has been taken away to a certain degree. When you get to be a certain age, if you’re doing talk radio, it’s harder to stay relevant. It’s harder. And I think ESPN being an all-sports outlet, not having a guy like me on there who can break down Lombardi’s Packers, who can talk about all the sports, golf and tennis the occasional times we do it, looks at sports as a whole, does not put black/white in any way, shape or form, I think that probably was something they may have been missing on a show like that.”
Old white guys dominated sports media for decades. So, old white guys now having less of a share in sports media isn’t a bad thing, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still space for those old white guys in sports media.
“And to Stephen A’s credit, he may have recognized it,” Russo said. “And to ESPN’s credit, I think that’s what they see that I can provide. And I’m not dumb enough to not understand that role, cause I go in there, I want those guys to shine. I don’t need the accolades, but I’ll do what I have to do to make that show better.”
Russo explained that making the show better doesn’t always mean forcing Lombardi’s Packers into the mix. There are times where making the show better means recognizing when to sit back and let the other personalities dominate the conversation.
“I know where to fill in the gaps,” Russo continued. “I know when to turn on the key and provide a little spark. And ESPN, I think, understands that role for me…I understand my role and I give them credit for giving me that role. And I think they needed it, to be fair to them. I think they needed somebody to sort of lighten the mood.”
Russo recently called joining First Take as a weekly contributor in 2022 the “break of a lifetime.” That’s high praise from a person who is in the radio Hall-of-Fame, operated some of sports media’s best real estate by co-hosting WFAN’s afternoon show with Mike Francesa for nearly two decades, has his own channel on SiriusXM, and enjoyed a daily show on MLB Network for 11 years.
While Russo certainly sees the value of being on First Take, he also knows Stephen A. Smith and ESPN recognized the benefit of adding his goofy personality and historical perspective to their rotation of contributors.