Love or hate him, it’s hard not to get sucked into some of Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s meltdowns and all-time rants; it’s part of his charm. It’s become a large part of his presence on First Take and ESPN’s airwaves and a hallmark of his SiriusXM show. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be over-the-top — he often is.
On MLB Network’s The Showdown, analyst Brian Kenny expressed his frustration with a trend he’s noticed this season. Kenny has watched numerous games where the local broadcasters’ excitement level seems particularly high, especially considering it’s still April. He questioned whether he was the only one who felt this way but clearly found the excessive enthusiasm a bit over-the-top.
Russo seems to harbor those same thoughts. And the irony is not lost on us that he may find someone or something else to be over the top.
The irony is not lost on us that Chris “Mad Dog” Russo thinks announcers have become too over-the-top. pic.twitter.com/evJinCLtFM
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 24, 2024
“You’re 100% right. It’s all announcers, it’s not just local baseball on April 20,” said Russo. “On TNT, the NBA, the NFL, it’s way, way, way over-the-top. You have to broadcast an event knowing what the sports fan thinks about the event. A home run in the seventh inning on April 20 when there’s 6,000 fans; it’s not Bobby Thomson. You have to sit there and broadcast and have a tone that fits the moment. I mean, there’s a layup scored at 10:10 first quarter, and you think somebody like (Michael) Jordan made the game-winning jump shot in Game 6 of an NBA Final.
“It’s way, way, way over-the-top with the exuberance. It’s almost like they’re trying to tell you, ‘How dare you miss this. This is the greatest thing in the world. Wow, what a great…’ And we don’t, as sports fans, we don’t need the — I know what’s important to watch and not watch and what to follow and not to follow. And I know the tenor of the game. I know if the moment in the game requires getting to a certain level, and a lot of times it doesn’t, and the broadcaster — too many times — does not realize that.”
You could argue that perhaps getting excited for a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of an April game is more deserving of getting worked up than about Rodger Goodell and the NFL putting the second game of the NFL regular season on Peacock, but that’s neither here, nor there.
“You know what, Dog? I agree with everything you just said,” Kenny added. “A few years ago, I think every announcer wanted to be Kevin Harlan or Gus Johnson, right? Those guys are screaming, and they became big, but they had certain things that they did as well. They went viral enough where everyone went, ‘Oh, that’s the way I have to behave.’ I think baseball announcers now feel like they have to please their clubs, ownership, and everything, so they get so fired up. But you’re supposed to be reporting to the viewer, to the fan. And when you go over the top in April, then August, September, and then playoffs, where do you go there? You’re already in fifth, sixth gear; you got nowhere else to go.”
“That’s the new-breed sports fan — the young kid,” Russo said. “My kid’s the perfect example. They want you to go over the top. Don’t be negative; go over-the-top on everything because they want to feel like they’re watching something that is highly significant because they may not necessarily be sophisticated sports fans. You can’t fool a sophisticated sports fan. An NBA game in October, a baseball game in April, a hockey match in January, or even an NFL football game does not require over-the-top octave(s) because somebody hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie. There’s too much of that going on in all levels of sportscasting during play-by-play of sports; it drives you crazy.”
We’re not exactly sure how often this is happening and what games. You want your announcers to be passionate about the games they’re calling while also recognizing the moment’s gravity. So, local announcers shouldn’t get excited when Team A strands the bases loaded in a tie game just because of the date on the calendar? That doesn’t entirely make sense.
Here’s an example of Stephen Nelson being on the call for James Outman’s go-ahead double in a 1-1 game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals on Tuesday. This doesn’t seem over the top at all.
Granted, that’s not the example Russo was alluding to, but it’s still a big moment in an April game against a lesser opponent. And while Russo probably need not give examples of not wanting to ruffle any feathers in the industry, this doesn’t seem like an epidemic worth getting upset over, especially considering Russo’s history of over-the-top rants.
Yes, the “Mad Dog” isn’t an announcer himself, but perhaps he’s the wrong person to deliver this message, truthful or not.
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An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled the name Bobby Thomson. We apologize for this error.