One Time! An Ode To The Mad Dog, Chris Russo

As a young sports fan along the Jersey Shore, I am graced with both the New York City and Philadelphia media markets. The ability to watch Yankees, Mets and Phillies games all at once without having to sign my soul over to MLB.TV is a blessing. However, the ratio for Philly fans to some combination of New York sports fan has to be close to 30:1, if not 50:1. The constant yapping I’ve heard from the late 90’s Yankee dynasty to the Devils’ three (Fucking three? Really? Thank you, left wing lock.) to the Giants winning a Super Bowl on the biggest bullshit play ever is daunting. The natural course of action for someone who likes teams from a city that has won one championship since my birth would be to keep as far away from sports banter as humanly possible. But thanks to one man, it was not only easier to stand up to New York bias bullshit, it was fun. Thank you, Mad Dog Chris Russo.

As a teenager, Mike and the Mad Dog made my after school afternoons. So what if I refused to play sports or hangout with my girlfriend? I just wanted to listen to Mike and Dog argue the day’s topics. Mad Dog always knew how to tweak not only his partner, but every New York sports fan. From starting the show with “Meet the Mets” after each Mets’ loss down the stretch of their epic 2007 collapse to calling out the Yankee’s obscene payroll after every win versus the former Devil Rays, Mad Dog knew how to bring it.

And of course who could forget this, the rant that made every small market, bad luck baseball fan stand up and applaud Mad Dog all the while asking their friends if trading family members for world championships is a cause for concern or not.

Now Mad Dog has brought his “style” to Sirius-XM radio. As an avid listener to his station I have to say I am torn with the results. On the one hand, I am disappointed that Mad Dog and Mike Francesa broke up their partnership. He was definitely the ying to his yang. Without having someone in studio to rip apart for six hours, Mad Dog is left to rely on terrible callers. However, the station is so desperate for callers that Dog often restrains himself from being overly combative in an effort to keep the person from never calling again. Also, being forced to talk about national sports topics, there isn't the chance to get in depth with particular stories or teams. (Or as I like to call it, Mike and Mike in the Morning Syndrome.) Despite these shortcomings I am happy that I still have the opportunity to listen to him on my commute home from the office every afternoon, whereas if he took a job on the radio in Nashville I would not.

Mad Dog may be a watered down version of what he once was, but Dog at 75% is still way better than most. He still makes me feel like a teenager again, sitting outside on a summer afternoon telling my friends how pathetic they are for not knowing who the Yankees’ starting right fielder is. And for that, I will be forever grateful.