Steak Shapiro and Sandra Golden talked about “the craft of sports entertainment” as part of their show, The Steakhouse, on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta. The conversation centered around some of the top ESPN talent and how the company has invested heavily in those who are, in a word, entertaining.
In setting up the segment, Shapiro said, “…What we do every day. Sandra and I have been doing it kind of our own way for a while and different from most any other show. And that’s how you distinguish yourself in a market and that’s how folks distinguish themselves at ESPN.”
Shapiro and Golden mostly focused on three individuals, Stephen A. Smith, Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo and Pat McAfee. Shapiro said Russo is “having a revitalization thanks to Stephen A. Smith and First Take,” before they played a clip or Russo being emphatically displeased with the roast Netflix aired with Tom Brady.
“So, he has his face right in the camera, he is going crazy like you hear him, he is performing,” Shapiro said. “So, he did his schtick, the definition of schtick…it’s all out there. The guy is in his 60’s. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea.”
The pair had a similar conversation as it related to Stephen A. Smith and a clip of his that went viral when he ranted about Kevin Durant. “It’s a performance,” Golden said. “These guys are the highest paid guys at the network for a reason…whether you hate them or love them you know them and you have an opinion about them. That’s a dream come true for a network.”
As the conversation turned to McAfee, Shapiro had plenty to say. “Pat McAfee went off on his own, streamed his show with eight of his buddies and basically blew up the way that we get our sports conversation. So much so that he had enormous offers coming his way and decided to go back to the stodgy, conservative old-school four-letter network…where he goes back to what is considered ‘corporate’ because they were going to give him access that nobody else could.
“”The GameDay set, and his own Pat McAfee simulcast. He gets him and his buddies, during the [college football] national title, get to stand on the sidelines with headsets and do their own show. That’s why he went back there. He doesn’t care if the 57-year-old dude that was around when ESPN hit the airwaves appreciates him sitting there with his shirt unbuttoned to his navel, carrying on and talking to guys in a certain vernacular that some folks don’t understand. It’s entertainment. I don’t need another guy to breakdown major league baseball for me or give me the analytics on the NBA playoffs. I don’t care and I am in the business.”
In the end, Shapiro said, “The key is going to be the entertainment. And there is a reason why Russo’s back. There’s a reason why McAfee and Stephen A. are the highest paid guys. Not to say Mina Kimes doesn’t work and that Scott Van Pelt is not awesome, but there’s a reason.”
