Countless influential figures in the sports media space make the industry what it is today. But according to Bill Simmons, thanks to their joint efforts on Mike and the Mad Dog, Mike Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo are perhaps most influential in making the sports podcasting space as big as it is today.
While Mike and the Mad Dog itself was obviously not a podcast, instead featuring in the WFAN afternoon timeslot from 1989 to 2008, the debate-heavy style of the program and their propensity to discuss topics outside of sports formed a blueprint in Simmons’ mind to what could and should be discussed by sports media figures.
Bill Simmons spoke about Mike and the Mad Dog on Friday’s edition of The Bill Simmons Podcast alongside his guest Jon Stewart, who himself is a big fan of both Russo and Francesa, explaining how he believes they played an integral role in sports podcasting when they weighed in on pop-culture topics like The Oscars and the Emmys.
“You must have listened to them back in the day, all the time, right?” Simmons asked Stewart.
“Oh god, yeah,” replied Stewart.
“Was there anything better than when they did the Oscars? Like, to me, that created podcasting,” added Simmons. “I feel like they created it when they weighed in on like the ’94 Oscars or the Emmys. I was like, ‘This is the model for something down the road.'”
Simmons, who, of course, has one of the biggest sports podcasts in the world, then spoke about how both Francesa and Russo impacted his broadcasting career directly.
“A lot of the people who have huge platforms now, and I include myself, were massively influenced by that specific show,” said Simmons. “Because the interplay back and forth with those guys is really what podcasting became.”
While Russo and Francesa may not be everyone’s cup of tea, they have always been unequivocally authentic and raw, which is what made them such a great pairing in the eyes of many. In fact, Stewart and Simmons believe that WFAN has been chasing the feeling that Russo and Francesa gave listeners for years now with personalities that do “impressions” of Russo and Francesa.
“When they came on the air, WFAN wasn’t as big of a deal yet,” said Stewart. “Stevie Somers at night doing all his stuff, and Dog and Francesa. It lit up sports for New Yorkers. And now everybody does their impression of that. It’s amazing to see, especially Dog still going strong. It’s kind of great.”
“Now, you listen to WFAN, you still listen, it seems like some of it is a little performative because the clips are really funny,” replied Simmons. “Just two bald guys absolutely losing their minds over the protection behind Aaron Judge, that Juan Soto seems unhappy.”
As they say, imitation is the best form of flattery. So it sure sounds as if Russo and Francesa’s impact goes far further than just Bill Simmons.