After suffering the lowest ratings in its 46-year history, ESPN has canceled the misguided First Take spinoff show, First Run, just two months after its debut.
The weekday show not only embraced debate, it demanded it—especially when there was clear consensus. However, totally unaware that running is a real sport, Stephen A. Smith and NFL analysts were woefully unprepared to discuss it. They couldn’t name one pro runner.
Consequently, the “talk show” quickly transitioned to a scripted program. But analysts were often caught dramatically reading lines from a paper. There were instances when they’d mess up their line and demand a do-over, forgetting it was live tv.
Beyond its inauthentic nature, there were myriad issues, not the least of which was the subject matter. Simply put, professional running is not remotely a popular spectator sport, and certainly doesn’t drive ratings like football, basketball, baseball, or any other major sport. It’s not close. There’s a reason it rarely airs on television: it’s a total yawn fest. You can only watch someone put one foot in front of the other while swinging their arms for so long.
After the pro running focus failed, the producers pivoted to such insignificant, entirely subjective amateur running topics to debate, including:
- Which heel-to-toe drop is the GOAT?
- What’s the GOAT running pace?
- What’s the GOAT heel pull tab size?
And even totally nonsensical questions, like, which shoe is more elite: left or right? And, which shoe colorway is most clutch?
Unsurprisingly, the pivot failed to spark any interest.
The dopey discourse was dominated by an unhealthy mix of toxic masculinity, misogyny, and even a bit of racism sprinkled in. Hot takes were lukewarm at best, while coherent sentences were nonexistent.
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro issued a statement as part of the cancelation:
“It’s truly a shame we couldn’t reproduce the magic of First Take. I’m really not sure where we went wrong with First Run. I suppose it didn’t help when Stephen A. would go off script and make offensive remarks about ‘pansy’ runners. But, rest assured we’re going back to the drawing board to see if we can’t figure out another First Take spinoff. Perhaps we’ll have better luck with cycling. First Cycle, yeah, I like the ring of that. Does anyone watch cycling?”
