Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has often admitted his weekly appearance on ESPN’s First Take has introduced him to a whole new audience.
The sports radio talk show icon debuted on First Take in early 2022 and now once a week joins the show for “Mad Dog Wednesday.”
Russo joined the God Bless Football podcast in Las Vegas this week to discuss what Stephen A. Smith and that show have meant to his career and why it’s been so successful.
Co-host Jon “Stugotz” Weiner posed the question, “How big has Stephen A. and that show been for you?”
“Renaissance, Renaissance, renaissance, renaissance,” Russo said. “(Smith) gave me a second wind, is what he did … 2 1/2 years ago, he gave me a second wind. Plus, it’s amazing the amount of the audience who don’t follow you on radio … 90% of his audience follows him on the TV. So his audience is not going to listen to [SiriusXM], for instance … so it’s a different element that has sort of been introduced.
“And so as a result, it works out well, because you have the radio taken care of, and you have his audience, and the TV audience taken care of, you kill two birds with one stone.”
Co-host Billy Gil pointed out what makes Russo click on the show.
“You were meant for TV,” Gil said. “You’re great at radio, but TV, you take it to another level. You know where the cameras are, you know exactly how to play it — you’re great on television.”
“One thing I like to do better than anything else is to perform,” Russo admitted.
“You are a performer,” Gil agreed.
“I like to perform. That is really the key,” Russo said.
Russo has certainly mastered the art of performing for a TV audience on the show. Here he is sharing his hate for Thanksgiving traditions last year.
The only thing Dog hates more than people is Thanksgiving pic.twitter.com/VqZdPqYuHb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 22, 2023
“If you like to perform, you can do it forever,” Russo said. “So from that standpoint, if you love doing that, you can figure out a way to get through your days.”
Here’s a look at Russo’s appearance.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.