I've been listening to him a lot recently with his time at WFAN ending on Friday. A majority of the callers are thanking him, saying he made their commutes better & the like. Some of it has been way over the top, but I get that he has his loyal followers.
While I enjoy hearing Da Sports Pope's take when a big sports story happens, I'm not going to miss him belittling caller & just being an obnoxious jackass most of the time. I don't know their new trio will do, but it probably is time for new blood.
How do you feel? Going to miss Francesa or not?
In today's manufactured sound bytes that are created by news and sports bureau chiefs for media people to deliver like automatons he will be missed and many will come to realize it.
I think white smoke out of your car radio would be more appropriate!
But he had a good knowledge of sports as a business and had a lot more common sense than the other guys on the station.
The main thing, though, is he has been the voice you heard in your car for almost thirty years. If you are 40 or younger you probably can’t remember s time before Francesa. So it’s the passing of an era and that is always a little sad and makes you whistful
Spent way too much time discussing baseball IMO.
In past years when the Giants were making a playoff push, he would spend the majority of his show discussing the Yankees off season moves.
Also, his Knicks coverage has always been very weak IMO.
I do tune in once in awhile and do find him entertaining from time to time.
Link - ( New Window )
Who under the age of 55 remembers Arthur Godfrey, a huge star in his time? Art Rust Jr. was the king of New York sports talk before WFAN. How many people today think about Art Rust Jr.? Morton Downey Jr. Larry King. These guys are very important but unlike movie & TV actors they don't leave a body of work you'd want to revisit. (Johnny Carson is a big exception.)
I know Mike Francessa isn't retiring, but I wonder if he's going to miss being, well, Mike Francessa. Because once he's off the radio, he's not going to be Da Sports Pope. He may be something, but he won't be that.
I thought him and the woman (can't remember her name - covered Giants for awhile, I think works for NFL network, Penn State grad) were phenomenal when she was on for awhile. Also liked him Sunday mornings.
As others said, I think for big events, he's a good listen. Otherwise, it's been hard to listen to. Loved when he would go off - Jets, Cowboys, McAdoo. The Eli benching was a good end for him.
On top of that through the 90's Mike and The Mad Dog was the most entertaining sports radio I ever have heard. Nobody and I mean NOBODY could cover runs like the '90 Giants, '94 Knicks/Rangers, '96 Yanks run like these guys. It was must listen radio. Not only did they get the top interviews, but they never let the subject off the hook. They always asked the tough questions we as fans wanted asked. I admit that in recent years I stopped listening much to Mike as I've grown more fond of listening to political radio and more specialized radio on Sirius like The NFL/NHL and MLB channels. I still tune him in after a huge event to get his take to this day. Of course he has an ego the size of 100 Grand Canyons, but thats what make people like him even more interesting in my opinion. I understand the hate for him. I really do whats great about the world is that beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
Every now and then at the dinner table I'll just burst on with:
"Chatanooga, Tennessee. You're on the line"
Francessa got the best interviews, and his show was a definite listen in comparison to anyone else IMO.
I've switched over to political talk (and am finding it's not much different than sports) about a year ago, but I'll miss Francessa.
Whether I commuted 15 minutes or an hour, I always tuned him (and Dog) in over those 30 years.
On top of that through the 90's Mike and The Mad Dog was the most entertaining sports radio I ever have heard. Nobody and I mean NOBODY could cover runs like the '90 Giants, '94 Knicks/Rangers, '96 Yanks run like these guys. It was must listen radio. Not only did they get the top interviews, but they never let the subject off the hook. They always asked the tough questions we as fans wanted asked. I admit that in recent years I stopped listening much to Mike as I've grown more fond of listening to political radio and more specialized radio on Sirius like The NFL/NHL and MLB channels. I still tune him in after a huge event to get his take to this day. Of course he has an ego the size of 100 Grand Canyons, but thats what make people like him even more interesting in my opinion. I understand the hate for him. I really do whats great about the world is that beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
Stu - great post. A lot of excellent points.
I thought him and the woman (can't remember her name - covered Giants for awhile, I think works for NFL network, Penn State grad) were phenomenal when she was on for awhile. Also liked him Sunday mornings.
As others said, I think for big events, he's a good listen. Otherwise, it's been hard to listen to. Loved when he would go off - Jets, Cowboys, McAdoo.
The Eli benching was a good end for him.
Kim Jones
My friends and I joke about his show almost weekly. As much of a douche as he can be, he always stuck to sports while incorporating anything else significant going on at the time outside of sports. I, for one, will miss the guy when he is gone. Especially given the competition and who he is being replaced with.
Over/Under for how long Scott lasts? I wouldnt be surprised in the least if he is gone by 2019.
The best parts are Francesa on his own, and the interviews. I'd say he'll be a big loss, but he'll be doing something else soon and I'll follow him there. Hopefully it's a better format than radio, which is antiquated and full of ads.
Funny I got nostalgia during this Yanks run and started listening to him a little more regularly with my kids in the car. The first thing I said to them after about 10 minutes was this is what I don't miss about local sports talk radio- the nimrod callers. You're right I listen to Sirius now because terrestrial radio has become un-listenable due to the endless stream of ads.
Hope his next stop is readily available I plan on continuing to listen
He speaks his mind and some of my favorite moments from the show was when he digs in when he is wrong.
Love the gifs. Loved the SF Giants and NY Giants hanging together call. And loved that he was around during the Eli debacle.
Quote:
He will back on some other kind of medium in a few months.
True. But there's no way he's going to do 5.5 hours 5 days per week wherever he goes.
And I'm amazed that people prefer "Bro, bro, bro Jets, Jets, Jets. Bro, bro, bro, Mets, Mets, Mets over Carlin. Carlin may lack the passion that Francesa has (or is it had), but he seems amiable and if nothing else, knows more about hockey.
Can't agree on carlin, never liked him.
He's arrogant and not charismatic and his interviews with anyone not related to horse racing, football or baseball were about as deep as a wading pool.
Minko sounds like he has a borderline speech impediment.
The whole thing is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
I understand the sentiment of 30something year olds who have grown up with him.
If you are 30+, live in the area, and love sports, you basically grew up with the guy.
As some of his callers have said to him this month. For me, his show spans from riding in the backseat of my Dad's car as a young kid, in the background while writing papers for college, and as I changed diapers for my newborn.
That's a long time.
Good post! Iam 36, and I grew up listening to him and Dog. I can remember the car rides and we'd listen to him. I will miss listening to him!
Minko sounds like he has a borderline speech impediment.
The whole thing is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
Really? I think that the New York accent is a thing in this watered down "everyone on radio/tv" has a midwestern accent and is basically a robot spewing whatever was written for them. Mike's total New Yawkness, delivery and style is going to be missed.
President
Mongo Nation
Middletown NJ Chapter
So yeah, it's true that there are a lot of strong Noo Yawk accents on Da Fan. Listeners like it.
It's a long list. Mondo has all the names on his Twitter. The last guest ever was LG. And let's just say LG was being LT at the end. LOL
More thanks: Joe Mihalich, Brendan Brown, Mike Breen, Lonn Trost, Todd Pletcher, Joe Micheletti, @MarcMalusis, Jerry Bailey, @regis, Bobby Valentine, @kurt13warner, @IraHeatBeat, Chris Kay, Eddie Coleman, Pierre McGuire, @ChrisChristie, Tim Cluess, @JSB_TV, Bobby Ojeda (cont)..
More thanks: Bob Baffert, @lindacohn, @CliffFloyd30, Darryl Strawberry, @MichaelBreed, John Davidson, @katienolan, Bob Costas, @EvanRobertsWFAN, Joe Benigno, Jim Fassel, Neil Smith, @JayGlazer, @ShaunOHara60, Suzyn Waldman, @PSchrags, @CarlBanksGIII, Tim McCarver (Cont)..
More thanks: Ian Eagle, Kenny Smith, Mike Tannebaum, @richeisen, @EricaWFAN, PJ Carlesimo, Eli Manning, @LonnieQuinnTV, @BMarshall, Eddie O, Steve Phillips, Keith Hernandez, @UKCoachCalipari, Joe Girardi, Tom Pecora, @bw51official, Barry Watkins, Brian Cashman
Thanks to special guests -- @TheImusShow, @MadDogUnleashed, our boss Mark Chernoff -- my friends @JMinkoWFAN, Mr. Met- Bob Heussler, Julio and the man LT. If I forgot anyone, feel free to let me know.
Why is Steve Phillips in this one?
Quote:
Why is Steve Phillips in this one?
Was there an intern around that he was trying to hit on?