When Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless reunited for a candid conversation on The Arena Gridiron podcast, the discussion quickly turned reflective, defiant, and unapologetic. More than a decade after their final appearance together on First Take, the two polarizing figures pushed back against long-standing criticism that their style damaged sports media rather than elevated it.
Bayless acknowledged that detractors still accuse the duo of lowering industry standards through debate-driven programming. However, he rejected the premise outright.
“I still hear people say that you and I ruin sports media. We destroyed it with our style or whatever. It’s ‘Screaming A. Smith’ and ‘Skip Baseless,'” said Bayless. “That’s all we ever heard. If I may say so myself, I think we revolutionized it.”
Ratings success played a central role in that defense. Bayless pointed to sustained audience growth during their run as evidence that chemistry, not controversy, fueled the show’s appeal. While imitators followed, he suggested that few replicated the balance of entertainment and substance that defined their dynamic.
“No one has ever quite matched the chemistry that maybe God above gave us,” said Bayless. “Can’t teach it, or coach it. It just worked, and it was entertaining, and enlightening. It was just fun.”
Smith echoed that sentiment, while adding context about the resentment that often follows visibility and success. According to Smith, criticism frequently stems from professional envy rather than principled disagreement.
“It’s a lot of BS when it comes to that stuff because you got a lot of jealousy, envy,” said Smith. “People look at what we’ve been able to achieve, and they’re like, Why them? Why not us?”
That rise, Smith explained, did not happen by accident. Both men entered television from print journalism backgrounds at a moment when newspapers were rapidly losing relevance. Smith described an acute awareness that traditional reporting roles were shrinking, while opinion-driven platforms were growing in value and reach.
“We saw the forest from the trees. Both of us were in newspapers, and we saw the industry dying. We saw them transitioning from that to dot com,” explained Smith. “We would run into radio hosts that didn’t know s**t. We were up there making $75-$100,000 while these cats making $300-$400,000 just to talk for two hours on the radio. I was like, I need to find out more about that industry.”
Rather than abandoning their journalistic roots, Smith argued that he and Bayless adapted them. Preparation, sourcing, and perspective remained central, even as the industry embraced debate and performance.
“The industry was evolving, and it was changing, and it was getting more into talk and stuff like that,” said Smith. “Skip knew he could talk. I knew I could talk, and we got the information. We weren’t worried about anybody else. That’s what we did.”
Years later, as sports media continues to wrestle with its identity, Smith and Bayless remain steadfast in their belief that First Take was not the problem. In their view, it was the blueprint.
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