Chris Russo gets honest about 'First Take'

Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo’s Hall-of-Fame career was coasting to a nice finish on SiriusXM and MLB Network, but then First Take called.

Russo’s debut appearance on First Take came in Jan. 2022, when Stephen A. Smith invited him to debate whether Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens belong in Cooperstown. It was supposed to be a one-off, but Russo’s appearance was so well-received that ESPN signed him up to be a weekly contributor on First Take almost immediately.

Russo joined the latest episode of the 06010 ESPN Communications Podcast with host Alex Feuz and discussed how much of an impact First Take has had on his career.

“It’s been a tremendous breakthrough. Let’s be honest. A little renaissance,” Russo admitted. “I never thought that would have the kind of impact – at least from a social network standpoint – because everybody follows First Take on social media so from that standpoint, I got a huge break there. People who had not seen me or heard me in the last 30 some-odd years doing terrestrial radio, they saw me here on First Take …I’ve been very, very lucky. The break of a lifetime at the age of 62.”

Calling the First Take portion of Russo’s career a “renaissance” is borderline controversial because it implies his career was fading before being asked to join ESPN, which wasn’t the case. Russo joined ESPN while already having his own channel and radio show on SiriusXM and a daily program on MLB Network. Having daily radio and TV shows on the national stage is far from needing a career renaissance.

But Russo calls it a renaissance because he hasn’t been this relevant since the Mike and the Mad Dog era of his career. Experiencing the impact that weekly appearances on First Take have on his already Hall-of-Fame career has given Russo a unique appreciation for Stephen A. Smith.

“He’s a personality. He knows how to sell his personality,” Russo said. “It’s almost like he’s a Broadway actor. He knows how to play the part. He knows how to get people riled up. He knows how to make people around him shine. He never has a problem with what you do as a co-host or as a participant on his show…He’s an entertainer. He is the perfect modern-day entertainer in 2024.”

“He’s got all the attributes that you’re looking for in 2024 America with media, especially sports media,” Russo continued. “And he loves to play the game and he’s tireless. I mean the guy does everything. He can go from politics to sports to anything he wants. He can do a million interviews. He can do Howard Stern to Sean Hannity back-to-back off doing two hours of First Take …I can’t tell you enough about how impressed I am.”

Who would have thought putting two people on an ESPN set once a week for two hours to see who can scream louder than the other would work? There are plenty of times when that’s what it seems like Russo and Smith are trying to do on First Take . But credit their abilities as performers, because from a sports entertainment standpoint, it does work.

[ ESPN ]

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