Veteran US sports radio host Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo has delivered an unhinged live TV rant over upcoming Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco 49ers game at the MCG, claiming nobody in Australia cares about the NFL.
Mad Dog, 66, backed 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan who complained about his team being selected for the lengthy trip across the Pacific Ocean and back.
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The Week 1 game will be played on Thursday US time, with the Rams and 49ers likely have 10 days to recover before they play again on home soil.
While tickets have been in high demand, and incredibly expensive, thanks to the massive and growing number of Aussie NFL fans Shanahan complained from his team’s point of view.
“I don’t see any pro,” Shanahan said.
“It’s cool for the league to play globally. I think that’s awesome. But as far as the team doing it, no, there’s not much benefit to it. Sometimes it’s nice to get a bye week after but doesn’t happen in Week 1.”
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Speaking on ESPN’s rant-and-rave extravaganza First Take, ‘Mad Dog’ went off on the NFL’s decision, claiming his brief experience living in Sydney some 46 years ago was proof there were no gridiron fans in Australia.
“This is mind-boggling – and good for Shanahan,” he began.
“Because the NFL playing Rams and Niners around the world, you know how far it is, it’s a 16-hour plane ride from LA or San Francisco to Melbourne!
“It’s a long way, and the game is gonna be played at 10 o’clock in the morning so it’s on 8:35 at night in America the night before. So they’re gonna play a game at 10:35 in the morning local time? And then they’re gonna fly back to America and play in Week 2?
“(Ex-tennis player) Patrick McEnroe, you know him, he works for ESPN, he tells me all the time when he covers the Australian Open it takes him six days to get over the jet lag!
“And believe me, this idea that the Australians care about football, I lived in Australia! 1980, I went to school at the University of Sydney.
“Every day of the week, I leave Frenchs Forest – a little town in New South Wales – I take a little bus to Chatswood train station, and I would take the Chatswood train station train to Sydney, over Sydney Harbour, that bridge, where the Sydney Opera House is … and then I get ready to go to school.
“And every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I buy my Sydney Morning Herald newspaper – you know I love the newspapers – and as a 20-year-old I get that thing, I COULDN’T FIND AN NFL FOOTBALL SCORE NO MATTER WHAT I DID! THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL IN AUSTRALIA FOR CRYIN’ OUT LOUD!”
At this point one of his co-hosts interjected with the very reasonable question: “In 1980?”
But Mad Dog continued.
“IF I WANTED TO SEE BROWNS-CHARGERS ON A MONDAY NIGHT GAME, I COULDN’T FIND THE SCORE NOWHERE! THERE WAS NO SCORES ANYWHERE!” he proclaimed.
“I FOUND BASEBALL, I FOUND HOCKEY, THEY COULDN’T CARE LESS ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!
“Anyway, to make a long story short, so now Shanahan has to 16 hours away, play in Melbourne, Australia … but nobody in Australia cares about the National Football League, and I can prove it, because I could never get a Sunday score in the Sydney Morning Herald!”
No word on whether Mad Dog is aware Australia has the internet now.
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