Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo was not a fan of the World Series pre-game performances from rappers Ice Cube and Fat Joe. He made that very clear.
Russo, known for his energetic, passionate, and sometimes controversial commentary style, laid into Major League Baseball for having them perform for the hometown crowd in Games 2 and 3 of the Fall Classic.
“Last night, I put the ball game on … Listen, I don’t mind music. They could put Jackson Browne in L.A. playing ‘Running on Empty’ or Bruce [Springsteen] at Yankee Stadium playing ‘Rosalita’ before the game,” he said during a segment on ESPN’s First Take.
“But GIVE ME THE BASEBALL GAME FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!” Russo shouted in his signature style.
Chris Russo Didn’t Like Ice Cube OR Fat Joe
The general consensus has been that, while Ice Cube’s performance was pretty solid out in LA, the Fat Joe incident was viewed by fans as if the Yankees tried purchasing a bargain basement Eminem on Wish.
Fat Joe was widely panned across the board for delivering an atrocious set. Some fans even preemptively blamed him if the Yankees ended up losing the World Series, which they did.
But Russo doesn’t want to see any music. Mainly because it delayed the start of the games by a few minutes. And he needs sleep. He’s not a young man any more.
“The game started at 8:18! I don’t want to have anybody … Stop with the Super Bowl! That’s at halftime. Stop with the NBA! That’s at halftime. It’s a baseball game,” he ranted.
“Let me sit there and watch the ball game! It starts at 8:18! It’s supposed to start at 8:08, but it’s 8:18. I need to go to bed and [get up early to] work with these clowns! That is ridiculous!”
Not to mention, the Yankees ended up getting beat after the Fat Joe travesty, before bouncing back the next night.
“What the hell was that Fat Joe performance?” one fan asked. “We’re gonna lose and it’s gonna be Fat Joe’s fault.”
They did. It probably was.
Russo Is Right But …
I certainly get where Russo is coming from. Baseball purists don’t want the game commercialized, and sports fans are starting to get annoyed by the cross-promotions.
That said, I’m okay with a slight delay in the game. As opposed to if they take Russo’s suggestion and decide to start having these people play mini-concerts during the 7th-inning stretch (baseball’s version of halftime).
Yeah, no thanks.
“Come on, I don’t want rock and roll. I don’t want rap. I want nothing!” Russo continued.
“I want (Joe) DiMaggio, (Mickey) Mantle, (Babe) Ruth and (Loui) Gehrig! It’s all I want! Give me a baseball game! The music is nonsense. Same thing in L.A.!”
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