Mike Francesa Can Talk Sports; That’s Why He Is on National TV

Mike Francesa, who admits his “five-year plan came full circle in two years,” is right where he wants to be. On weekday afternoons, he talks sports for four hours on WFAN (660) in New York; on weekends, he provides CBS television with his expertise at halftime of the network’s college football shows.

The result is viewers across the nation are learning what we in the Tri-State area already knew: Mike Francesa is one terrific young sportscaster. In an age that often substitutes fluff for substance, Francesa is the genuine article. He has come from behind the scene into the full glare of the spotlight without missing a step.

“I went to CBS in the fall of 1981 when they acquired college football and basketball,” Francesa says. “I was an editorial consultant at the network, working on scheduling, program content and studio shows. I never really wanted to be a producer or a director, but I was on the other side of the camera for years. I always wanted to get on the air, so I bided my time.”

Francesa’s chance came when WFAN gave him a couple of weekend slots, talking college and pro football. That led to a morning spot alongside Ed Coleman and now to the station’s featured drive-time afternoon showcase. Francesa teams with Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo.

“When FAN came on the air I called them up because I always felt I could do it,” Francesa recalls. “I felt I knew sports and I had been around sportscasters enough to know what had to be done. When I got the chance I wanted to make the most of it. Then, CBS told me I would get a shot on the college football this fall. They didn’t guarantee that I’d be on every week, but things have gone well. Working with Greg (co-host Greg Gumbel) is a pleasure.”

The reason Francesa has made an impact at both WFAN and CBS is quite simple. He not only knows sports, he revels in them. Some talk shows suffer for lack of intensity, but when Francesa is on the air he positively bubbles with enthusiasm. Sometimes he can be overpowering, but he’s usually so clearly interested in the subject that you can forgive him any excesses.

“Radio allows someone like me, who is opinionated and who likes to talk, the space to operate,” he says. “Being on the air 20 hours a week is a long time. I’ve got the chance to explain myself. At network television you talk in headlines. Everything is so time-concise and formatted that you have to get it done in four sentences.”

Francesa has managed to do both tasks well. He can spend nearly a half-hour in conversation with Russo about the Heisman Trophy race or sum the same thing up in 30 seconds at halftime. It’s a rare gift. And it doesn’t hurt that Francesa has had a remarkable year.

In March, WFAN’s morning star, Don Imus, made the mistake of “betting” a Porsche against Francesa’s prediction that Seton Hall would make the National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four. The resulting by-play between the two got the station plenty of publicity and Francesa the reputation of a seer. It was also Francesa who predicted Florida State’s upset of Miami this season.

This weekend should give Francesa scope. Francesa has three halftime shows to set out the issues at stake and, naturally, he isn’t short of opinions.

“The bowl stuff is done. Everybody knows where the teams are going,” he says. “But this whole weekend is based on Miami-Notre Dame. If Notre Dame wins, it’s simple. They play Colorado in the Orange Bowl for the national championship. If Miami wins, the complexity comes in. I even think that Notre Dame could lose close to Miami and still win the national title.”

“Suppose they lose a 24-23 game, then clobber Colorado, and Alabama gets beaten by either Auburn or Miami. I think Notre Dame would still get voted No. 1 in that case.”

And how about the Heisman?

“For a change, we won’t know who’s won it until the night,” Francesa says. “I think a lot of people are holding their votes until after this weekend. If Tony Rice gives a big effort in front of a huge audience Saturday I think he’ll win it, but Andre Ware and Anthony Thompson are in it, too.”

Such opinions, backed up with sports logic and careful argument, make Francesa a delight for the die-hard fan. WFAN’s decision to replace Pete Franklin with Francesa and Russo has proven itself a winner. With Russo starting to make his own impact, the show is increasingly formidable.

“I love doing the FAN,” Francesa says. “It’s the job I wanted. But I want to develop more fully in television, too. Right now I guess I just have to take it a page at a time. I had that five-year plan; I’ve got to start working on a new one now.”