Opinion: Yes, the big-name sports show hosts are entertaining. However, sports fans nationally need to determine whether or not to give their claims merit based on their need to entertain.
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If we’re being realistic, the sports world doesn’t need so many voices spewing their perspectives into the airwaves; just listen to me. I’m literally always right. Give me the keys to the sports talk industry. My next hot take is that you should financially support your local sports gamblers like me because I put all my rent money for this month on Mississippi State beating Alabama, and it’s caused a little bit of strife between my roommates and me.
When it comes to famous sports personalities and opinionators, the idea has never been to be agreed with. I would have thought the point was to try to be right and justified for whatever your point was in the end, but with some of the most famous voices in the sports talk industry recently, it seems the main goal is to just be heard.
When I look at some of the big names, the Colin Cowherds, Skip Bayless’ and Stephen A. Smiths (is it Stephen Them Smith’s if it’s plural?) of the sports talk show world, I see a pattern of becoming famous only when you become the most vocally disagreeable. Cowherd has a plethora of rash and, at times, disrespectful takes and once got in trouble for saying disparaging comments about the intelligence of Dominican baseball players. Then he tried to use stats to defend himself like he was talking about their batting average.
Skip Bayless, I’d argue, is more known for his grown-man tantrums live on national television and the arguments he has with himself instead of his wise opinions. Stephen A. Smith recently featured on Fox News –– allowing Sean Hannity to flex that he has a Black friend, so it’s cool –– then got kinky with Jake Paul, all in the same week.
I don’t doubt the credibility of these celebrities; they are at the top of the game for a reason. They know what they’re talking about (most of the time), and yes, I am probably just jealous of all the money they make. The sports director of KWVA Radio, Ryan Milano, attests to the credibility in his industry they had to gain to get to where they are: “All these national guys, they were journalists first –– they have their sources.”
My gripe with these sports personalities and others like them — the viral, theatrically-animated and reactionary show hosts — is that with their intent to entertain, many of their takes feel like bait for backlash, and I question their authenticity. Their more questionable actions and opinions seem like just jostling for the spotlight. “When you’re that high up, it’s about keeping your power at that level. These people have voices that generate them a lot of money, and those people want to keep a lot of money,” Milano said.
What makes show hosts money is media traction: The more attention garnered and conversations started from a sound byte with their voice in it brings in more clicks and more revenue. People, specifically sports fans, tend to be more vocalized on topics they disagree with rather than agree with. Thus, from a business perspective, it makes sense to stay as outlandish as possible and benefit from the angry mob outside the studio. Unfortunately, what we learn from this formula is that it doesn’t pay to be right; it pays to be noticed.
Trust me, I know it doesn’t pay to be right. Mississippi State was a lock, but now my roommates are on the other side of my door saying something about me squatting here and the cops.
The cycle is fairly simple to follow: Stay relatively agreeable for a decent amount of time, then randomly claim Andre Iguodala would save the human race from an extraterrestrial doomsday by hitting a 3, and wait for everyone to lose their minds on Twitter. Rinse and repeat.
This isn’t a piece demonizing or calling for a boycott of sports entertainers. At times, I really do appreciate the ridiculous discourse they begin in the sports world. Though, fans must realize that your tweet about how Skip Bayless sounds like an idiot is exactly what Skip Bayless needs to keep sounding like an idiot. Indulge in watching them all you want, but recognize there are much more genuine, fair and better-informed spokespeople to engage within the sports world.
From my experience, local journalists following a specific team are the most valuable and valid opinions available. Members of the sports team on KWVA who I talked to follow Duck sports closer than anyone, their opinions are supported by clear stats and are honest to the players, fans and teams they cover.
“If you’re looking for a national scope Stephen A. Smith will probably do a good job, but if you’re looking at individual teams, there are a lot of good local journalists out there,” third-year student and assistant sports director at KWVA Knight Jarecki said. “Is Stephen A. Smith going to talk the best about Oregon Football, for example? Probably not. He doesn’t know anything compared to those that are working in the Oregon Football beat.”
