Starting next week, Shannon Sharpe will appear on First Take with Stephen A. Smith every Monday and Tuesday during the football season.
Smith was a guest on the Club Shay Shay podcast hosted by Sharpe. He mentioned that one of the reasons he wanted to do something with Sharpe was that he wanted the rest of the sports world to know that Sharpe was wanted.
“I didn’t want you to be in the situation where the sports world looked at you and said ‘what did he do? He must have done something.’ I said if he ends up here, he ends up here. The honchos know I want him. More importantly than that, this is a brother that I think has done a lot of good work on television that has helped our community. As a result, it’s incumbent upon me because of the perch I sit on to let them know he’s wanted.”
Sharpe mentioned that he met Smith back in 2014 and that recently, they have become closer than ever.
“Over the last year and a half, I was going through some things and he was the one guy that was in this business I felt I could talk to. It would stay between us, but he would give me sound advice.”
Smith said that he knew that Skip Bayless was auditioning Sharpe for what would eventually become UNDISPUTED on FS1, while Bayless was still part of First Take. Smith got out of the way and let it happen.
“I knew back then Skip was auditioning you because whenever I took off, you would be there. What Jamie Horowitz wouldn’t tell anyone was there were extra days I would take off just so Skip can bring you on. If you are not creating opportunities for other people, what good are you?”
As for when Smith debates Sharpe, he believes that when it comes time to talk about football, he will never question Sharpe’s football acumen, but instead take a look at the information from a reporter’s lens.
“It’s like I’m going to argue with you about your points. We are going to agree, we are going to disagree. But, at the end of the day, we are brothers and we are going to sit up there and do what we can to make our product shine.”
As for what people should expect when Smith and Sharpe debate, Smith knows that First Take has become a close-knit community with the rotating cast. Since he became the executive producer, he wants people to shine and he knows what the audience of First Take wants to hear.
Smith said it was clear his plan was working when Michael Irvin become part of the show last year.
“One of my proudest moments was when Michael Irvin came last year. The reason I was proud was I know what his name brings and the stature that it holds. You are thinking he comes and the others feel alienated. But, if you watch him when he was on the show with us, it was a brotherhood. Orlovsky, Ryan Clark, Marcus Spears, they wanted to be on-air with him. That’s how it’s supposed to be. The NFL constantly talks about how a brotherhood exists. First Take is a platform for a brotherhood.”
