So, I heard the news a while back, Shannon Sharpe heading over to join Stephen A. Smith on First Take. My first thought? Honestly, I kinda shrugged. Figured it’d just be more yelling, maybe louder now with two of them.
I remember tuning in those first few times, mostly out of curiosity. Made my coffee, sat down, flipped on the TV. It felt a little weird, gotta say. Like watching two heavyweight champs trying to figure out how to spar without really knocking each other out immediately. You could see Stephen A. doing his usual high-energy thing, and Shannon was there, trying to find his rhythm in that specific storm.
Figuring Out the Dynamic
It wasn’t instantly smooth. There were moments where it seemed like they were talking past each other, or one was waiting for the other to finish, but not really listening, you know? Felt a bit forced sometimes. I thought, “Okay, maybe this isn’t gonna work out as well as they hoped.”
But I kept checking in now and then. Didn’t watch religiously, but caught bits and pieces over the weeks. And slowly, I started noticing a shift. Shannon wasn’t just a sidekick nodding along. He started pushing back, harder. He brought that Unc vibe, his own sayings, his own way of debating. He wasn’t just filling a seat; he was carving out his space right next to Stephen A.
Finding the Groove
There was this one time, I think they were arguing about the Cowboys, as usual. Shannon went on one of his passionate rants, really laying out his point, and Stephen A. was just kinda sitting there, and for a split second, he looked genuinely surprised, maybe even a little impressed. It wasn’t the usual steamrolling. That’s when I kinda thought, “Huh, maybe this has legs after all.”
- It wasn’t just agreeing or disagreeing anymore.
- It felt like a real contest of opinions, two guys with big egos learning to share the spotlight.
- Sometimes it’s still clunky, don’t get me wrong.
- But other times, they actually build off each other pretty well.
It sort of reminds me of this old job I had. We merged two teams, completely different ways of working. First few months were rough, lots of stepping on toes. But eventually, we figured out how to use each team’s strengths. Seeing Shannon and Stephen A., it’s like that sometimes. Two very different styles, lots of noise, but they’re figuring out how to make it compelling, or at least, how to keep people watching.
So yeah, my initial take was probably too quick. It’s still loud, it’s still opinionated, but watching them navigate that dynamic has been more interesting than I first expected. It’s a process, just like anything else when you mix strong personalities. You just gotta watch it unfold.
