These early NFL start times are wreaking havoc on the media, especially Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Michael Irvin.
Monday morning on Undisputed, Skip Bayless noted Irvin had to be up early for Sunday’s Miami Dolphins-Kansas City Chiefs game in Germany. The 3:30 p.m. kickoff time in Frankfurt meant a 9:30 a.m. start on the East Coast and a 6:30 a.m. start for West Coast NFL fans. For Irvin, that meant waking up at 2 a.m. Sunday morning so he could be ready for his NFL Network responsibilities. Luckily, Irvin is used to being awake at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning, only it’s usually because he’s still up from the night before.
“Patrick Mahomes is basically God playing QB.”
— @MichaelIrvin88 pic.twitter.com/ishpapraZH
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 6, 2023
“I didn’t even mind getting up early this time because the game was so big,” Irvin told Bayless. “I got up at 2 a.m. 2 a.m., I’m usually saying, ‘Let me get three vodka cranberries!’ Cause they’re saying last call, you know what I mean? I was waking up! I was going to work at 2 a.m., so it was something new.”
Three vodka cranberries, that’s quite the last call. But Irvin probably isn’t alone. It would seem highly likely that there are more football fans tacking onto their bar tab at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning than there are fans clocking into work. The former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver also isn’t the only media member who had their weekend rituals usurped by the NFL this week. While Irvin had to sacrifice a night of vodka cranberries for an early call time, Chris Russo had to choose between watching Dolphins-Chiefs or taking his mother to church and brunch.
Last week, Russo obliterated the NFL for sending the Dolphins and Chiefs to Germany, forcing fans to alter their morning plans if they wanted to watch the most intriguing matchup of the week.
“I go to church on Sunday! I take Molly Russo [Dog’s mother] out to brunch,” Russo raged last week on First Take. “I can’t watch that dopey game! And I want to! But Roger put me in a tough spot! I gotta pray to my God! I can’t be praying to Mahomes and Tua!”
NFL Network has the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots at 9:30 a.m. from Frankfurt next week. That’s a matchup Russo is probably willing to miss in favor of taking his mom to church. Irvin, however, will still be tasked with the early call time. But look out after that, because with no early game in Week 11, Irvin can get back to closing the bar.
