Dan Le Batard hates what Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless did to sports television, but that animosity can also be directed at Mike Francesa and Chris Russo.
Le Batard sparked a sort of feud with Smith earlier this year when he bluntly told the First Take host, “I hate what you [and Skip Bayless] have done to sports television.” Smith was caught off guard by the criticism, but mustered enough of a retort to ask, “What about you?”
What about Smith, what about Bayless, what about Le Batard, but also, what about Francesa and Russo? On the latest episode of The Mike Francesa Podcast, the sports radio legend was asked about the impact his WFAN show with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo had on sports media and he unknowingly took some of the blame away from Smith.
“If you ask what it meant to the sports culture or sports media in this country, it was the forerunner of all these shows,” Francesa answered. “It was the forerunner of Pardon The Interruption, it was the forerunner of any of these debate shows you see on television. We created that two-man show where two guys did everything. They attacked issues, they completely gave opinions on everything in sports and then they went at each other and argued about everything in the world.”
They attacked issues, they brought Mike Piazza to the New York Mets, they argued about the bathrooms at Yankee Stadium, they proved sports debate could succeed as its own format. Francesa’s not embellishing when he accepts responsibility for sports debate shows on TV. And for that, maybe he and Dog deserve some blame for Le Batard’s dissenting view of the format. They similarly deserve some credit for Le Batard enjoying a long and lucrative career in the format.
Sports radio and television predated Mike and the Mad Dog, but there’s no question their success as a show in New York influenced modern sports radio and the concept of putting two people in a room to argue about a range of topics.
“You had two guys who, I don’t think there’s any question, could have been highly successful on their own, who teamed up to make this once in a lifetime show. And that’s what it was,” Francesa continued. “And it did change everything, it really did. It had an incredible amount of influence.”
During his interview with Stephen A. Smith earlier this year, Le Batard explained that he hated First Take for spawning an industry of imitators. And while Smith was seemingly appalled by Le Batard’s blame, Francesa sounds more eager to accept responsibility.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com