Mike Francesa went on Desus and Mero for their last ever show on Viceland and the trio represented New York like no one else could.
Desus and Mero are moving from Viceland and heading to Showtime. They called it greener pastures. The last show featured highlights from the shows most memorable moments. There was Cardi B on election night before she was that Cardi B. There was an animal segment and a hot chip segment where a guy almost died from the spiciness. But the biggest part of the show was without a doubt, Mike Francesa.
It began with Desus and Mero discussing how they missed Mike during his retirement. Like many New York sports fans, when a big moment happened, they were looking for his take. It’s really specific to New York sports fans, but Francesa is one of the few voices in the town who people say that about.
And if you haven’t been listening to Mike on the radio lately, he clarified—the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is back.
But before Desus and Mero could ask Mike too many questions, he chimed in with a few of his own. He asked them how they arrived at a point where they are leaving their established TV show for a spot on Showtime.
They said it all started on Twitter. Desus and Mero were popular Twitter personalities from the Bronx who started a podcast that led to television appearances. One thing continued to lead to another thing and now they’re on Showtime.
Ironically, Desus and Mero got their start on Twitter while the WFAN host has only joined the masses on the social media site recently. The Viceland pair asked Francesa about his legendary first tweet.
Long time coming, first time tweeting. Don’t waste my time with dumb stuff.
— Mike Francesa (@MikeFrancesa) May 18, 2018
As to how Francesa deals with anyone who tries to waste his time with dumb stuff and he said:
“I don’t read the comments.”
Then, Mero asked the kind of question all New York sports fans at the very least imagine asking Mike. Mero asked if the Yankees could trade Jacoby Ellsbury for Bartolo Colon straight up. Mike didn’t hesitate:
“I would hang up on you.”
During the latter stages of the interview, the trio brought it back to where it all started for both of them—New York. The late-night hosts asked Francesa if he ever was afraid of being considered too New York. There was no hiding that New York accent when Francesa was working in the national media. In New York, that accent feels familiar, but to non-New Yorkers, Francesa can seem foreign at times.
But in classic Mike fashion, he didn’t care if anybody thought he was too New York:
“If they don’t like it tough.”
He’s stubborn, unapologetic, and he’s always right. But that’s New York and Francesa would rather have New York than anywhere else. In fact, he told Desus and Mero:
“I’d rather own New York than own the whole country.”
That may be true, but most fans understood his retirement as a failed search for a job in the national media, which eventually led him back to his familiar spot on 101.9 FM—with his tail tucked between his legs a bit. A little slice of humble pie never hurt anyone.
But no one seems to care about the retirement. It’s almost a forgotten subject. The Sports Pope is back to being number one on the air and it almost feels like he never left.
Desus and Mero had to end the interview with their classic rainbow. Mike’s quote was simple.
“Dream it and do it.”
Desus and Mero are off to bigger and better things while Francesa is back to his old familiar trappings at WFAN. But all three are as New York as New York gets.
The extended cut of the interview between Mike Francesa and Desus and Mero can be found here.
