Skip Bayless reflects on his Stephen A. Smith reunion
“I hope you enjoyed last Friday as much as I did. As you almost certainly know by now, last Friday I reunited with the man I’ve known for a quarter of a century, with my obviously all-time favorite debate partner, the man I was born to work with debating sports on live television, my brother Stephen A. Smith.
“Reunited for two hours, just the two of us, with Shay Cornett refereeing, live on ESPN from out here in Los Angeles at LA Live, downtown L.A., not too far from where I sit. Pacific time, 7 a.m. to 9.
“And I didn’t sleep very well the night before. Had to get up at 2 o’clock in the morning out here to get ready. But I wasn’t nervous. I was just excited. I couldn’t wait to jump out of bed. So I couldn’t fall asleep. It’s Christmas morning as like a little kid all over again.
“And if I’m being completely, utterly honest with you, I did have just a little bit of concern that we could live up to all the hype of our reuniting, the promotional hype. It felt by Thursday a little out of control. I added to it. I fueled the fire.
“It felt like to me by Thursday night that the whole world, all the way to China, they were waiting to see if this would work. Now, from the bottom of my heart and my soul, I had zero doubt it would work.
“Because I can’t see it as a reunion. No, no, it wasn’t a reunion. It was the rebirth. It was a relaunch. It was just a restart of the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my lifetime on air: chemistry, rapport, connection, whatever you want to call it with Stephen A. Smith.
“I did, for the record, have him on my new show that I’ve been doing for Underdog Arena Gridiron at the Super Bowl. He actually asked my wife Ernestine, does he want me on? I’m going to be up there in San Francisco. Yes, definitely.
“So he did join us live in San Francisco. He was on for an hour and a half. It was different because I was more interviewing him maybe than actually debating with him, going back and forth with it.
“But it didn’t have quite the same vibe as it does across a table head to head, where the object is to win the debate. We did do that for an hour and a half. Just like riding a bicycle. Only it’s the greatest bicycle you’ve ever ridden in your life. A bicycle built for two.
“And just understand, we date all the way back to after Michael Jordan retired in Chicago. I was working at the Tribune. He was covering the Sixers for the Philadelphia Enquirer. Allen Iverson came to town.
“And at that point I was stuck going to the United Center, the house that Michael built, to see visitors. Because there was no more Jordan. So I went to see Iverson.
“My sports editor, he was suited and booted, coat and tie. I was impressed. Liked the way he carried himself. Liked how smart he was. You know, I liked how full of himself he was because he did not lack confidence. Nor did I. And that was 1999.
“Then it’s probably 2000 or 2001. Maybe we just randomly got paired on Jim Rome’s old show on what was called Fox Sports Net, The Last Word, as Jim’s two wingmen. He sat between us and tried to moderate. Lost control of the show because we just immediately clicked.
“And I got a kick out of him. He got a kick out of me. And right away, Stephen A. Smith, hey, he liked me. We come from opposite ends of the earth. Oklahoma City is from, now Queens, New York. We are both journalists of calmness, both reporters.
“And not only did he immediately like me, it doesn’t like everybody. Nor do I. He respected me and trusted me, vice versa. And we immediately developed a trust where we could really go at each other without offending or alienating each other or without crossing a line and getting personal with each other. Never ever. It just worked.
“And Jim Rome sat there with tennis neck, you know, volleying. Had us back on, had us back on again. And then lo and behold, Jim left. They have an opening, that late slot on Fox Sports Net.
“And the producer of the show named John Johnson said, hey, I want to do an audition tape for this show. And he was going to call it Sports in Black and White. We did an audition tape, a half-hour show. I think PTI had just started, maybe three months old at that point.
“John Johnson, the other exec, came running down all of the control rooms so they could put this on here tonight. But as they ran it up the flagpole, Fox, I don’t know what happened at the top, but somebody said no, it’s just too edgy.
“And now it wasn’t. We were having fun going hard, but we love each other. I just knew that the audience would love how much we love to argue different ways. Didn’t work at that point.
“We were both going to move to L.A. and work for Fox. Then next thing you know, he’s at ESPN. I’m still writing newspaper columns. And we start doing a show on Sunday morning called Old School News. School that is part of SportsCenter Sunday morning. SportsCenter. And we’re told the ratings for which through the roof every Sunday.
“We were on for I don’t know, 10, 12 minutes, maybe a little bit more. We would do three big topics. But great Bob Lee tried to referee those. Sometimes lost control of ourselves. But it was hot TV. And I just got lost in live. But for where I was, what I was doing, because we were so connected to him. And he was somewhere else.
“Every once in a while we would be in New York. Then I start on a show called Pizza that morphed into First Take. And yeah, I became the driving force of that debate show. We did the first full two-hour debate show.
“Stephen A. was no longer at ESPN for a couple of years. I fought like crazy to get him back and kept telling the executives, you don’t understand that chemistry here is rare. Please let them come back in some way, shape, or form so that can reconnect. We’ll show what we do.
“And I kept dating a rotation of debaters who would come in week to week. Many different: Jamel, Michael Smith, Rob Parker, Two Live Stews, Chris Broussard. I could go on and on. But we had a whole big rotation.
“Then we started into the Tim Tebow year 2011. It got crazy. Every ex-NFL player in the building in Bristol, Connecticut, would debate me about Tim Tebow. They let Stephen A. be on. In 2014 we had him every Wednesday for one long segment at the second hour. That by then remorphed again into a full two hours debate show. I fought to get Stephen A. to be my permanent partner, which he was for the next five years.
“I hear people say we ruined sports television. But you would be the judge of that. You are a great shaped my childhood. And it was great for five years. And I didn’t want to gold watch at ESPN, but needed one more huge challenge. So did he.
“So the greatest thing we did, part ways in 2016 when I came out here to L.A. to help launch a fledgling network that used to be Fox Sports Net, excuse me, SportsNet. And then it became Fox Sports 1. And started a show, Undisputed.
“Fought to have as my next partner Shannon Sharpe. Was going a whole different vibe because Shannon obviously in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We had a great run together, seven and a half years.
“Meanwhile, Stephen A., to his credit, put First Take on his shoulders and took it up a level. I am so proud of him. We kept in close touch all through those years. He’d be out here in L.A. with my wife Ernestine. The three of us would go out. Come over here. We continued to stay in touch.
“We had a few differences. Listen, brothers argue. Brothers sometimes fight. And we’re both emotional, sometimes overemotional. Especially yet. That the point was that the best thing we did is not get stale. The best thing we did, stay in touch.
“And I kept getting the feeling, oh this whole show last Friday, show reunion shows going to be about the way we were. And I kept saying no, no, it’s about the way we are. Because yes, we’re both ten years older than the last time we debated. Better in a decade. We’re also ten years wiser.
“I learned so much. I pulled up roots. I took my wife out of New York City where she was born and raised and said no, don’t think yes, you can. You will learn to like L.A. At least the weather. You like the weather. She still misses New York dearly.
“But experience that I gained with a new partner and in a new place and a new format and a new network with all forms of new politics that you have to play and relationships and egos that you have to juggle. Stephen went on into radio and political radio.
“He has done so much over the last decade that made him even greater at what he does. And he has the greatest gift I have ever encountered in any medium, way, shape, or form. God said let there be Stephen A. Gift of gab. I feed off it. I connect with it. I play to it. I understand it.
“For years we did remote television where I can’t see him. I could only hear him. And I don’t like to see him. I don’t want to talk to the box with Stephen in it. I just want to listen to his voice because every word I understand. The syntax that comes out of his mouth.
“And I know when he’s rolling and I know when he is winding up. And I know when it’s time for me to jump. And there are times I thought we were at least as good, if not better. We were both in different cities and couldn’t really, you know, we could see each other face to face obviously.
“But Friday we were back face to face. And for me again, I had no doubt about what was going to happen. So I wasn’t at all nervous. It was business as usual.
“I got there early. I prepped. I memorized. I was too ready. Ernestine went with me. She said just gear down a little bit. You’re over. I can over press. It’s who I am. It’s what I do.
“I had a long session with his producers on Thursday before. And I told them all of my best topics. And we had a blend of new and old because we did want to revisit Tim Tebow for example in their take back segment. You do want to take it back? No, I don’t. Say get back.
“I was right about T-Bo in 2011. I said before he got drafted, tell him 25th overall. Josh unfortunately got fired before it happened. But they were one and four. And 2011 Tim Tebow takes over and go win the AFC West. Then they went home playoff game over the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers of Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger.
“And do so with Tim Tebow who can’t throw according to Stephen A. Throwing the greatest touchdown pass, playoff overtime history is the most infamous Demaryius Thomas one throw one catch run after catch game over. Stephen A. on the floor of his New York apartment. What memories.
“It was the greatest moment of my career and worst moment of his. So we had to revisit that. But did a lot of new. Obviously updated our LeBron argument about where he ranks all time.
“I’m lost in the debate. I am just immediately deeply connected to his psyche. And I am playing off him. And by the way, got off some good zingers. I don’t know what you thought but I got off four or five.
“And again, the beauty of our relationship is he’ll let me get away with that. And I don’t think he let just anybody get away with those zingers. But he was getting a kick out of them and they were funny.
“And they’re not malicious. They’re not low blows. They’re not personal shots. They’re just funny. I love to have fun with him. And he loves to have fun with me. And he loved roll his eyes at me and make all those faces at me.
“It’s just magic to me. I got back into the magic and it was like we had never stopped. But trust me, we needed to stop or it would have gotten stale. So fresh because we’ve been building up ten years of extremely emotional opinions that we wanted to unleash on each other. And we did it.
“I hope you thought it worked. But in my career I don’t read the comments. But I do have friends and a wife who does read the comments. And I do have a producer Tyler Corn who does read the comments, keep up.
“And I’m pretty sure according to them and people I work with at Underdog that it was just the most positive reaction I’ve ever gotten on social media of anything I have done. And that’s a tribute in large part to Stephen A. Smith.
“So I’m lost in debates. I am having the time of my life. Opening Christmas presents again on Christmas morning. We are in the topic before what what’s going to become the topic of the show, LeBron. We’re doing Wimby.
“And I have one of these pens in my hand as I always do. I go write something as he is talking. Like from not your own guilt. So I go to write it out of ink. Huh, sorry ink. So I put my hands back under the table and got the pen on my hand.
“And I’m like coming across the table. It’s just the way I am. I actually love what I’m doing. It’s 1000% me. It’s 1000% authentic. I believe with every fiber of my body and soul in what I’m expressing.
“I have thought deeply about every opinion that I’ve ever unleashed on television and social digital. I’m not faking it. Just truth telling. I am unburdening my soul with every last ounce of what I believe because I’ve researched it and I’ve memorized it. I’m going to fight for it and I’m not going to back off or back down.
“So we’re going back and forth about Wimby. And I glanced down at my hands. I don’t know how but my blue pen has exploded all over my hand. When I was a little kid in grade school, Mayfair grades go on Oklahoma City, I hated the guess. Is why I don’t have a tattoo.
“Just I just don’t like ink on my hands. I just that the idea to get it off. I don’t know. I’m a neat freak. Body is a temple. I don’t know. Just one of my foibles. I just don’t like to get stuff all over me.
“And you can ask my wife because she was sitting in the wave tour since we went to break. It went everywhere. Went under on my nails and it just, it was all an guess. Done this or something had just gone crazy.
“It was like lots of wet ink. You know, I stuck my hands in a vat of blue ink. And I’m horrified as we wind up the Wimby debate because I can’t do that anymore or you’re going to say what the hell happened to your hands. I am bleeding blue right for Dallas Cowboys.
“And as we go to break I have this flash of the black. Did he have somebody sabotage my pen so it could sabotage my argument and the ability to express myself? I don’t know. I’m horrified.
“I waved at Ernestine like come up here. You won’t believe this. She comes right out. But she said oh my God what did you do? Shake when that saw while trying to defend myself about Wimby. And she rolled her black pen over to me in case I need it.
“But my hands are so sticky with blue ink I can’t reveal them to the audience. High definition live television. Ernestine says here. And she takes Purell and just starts bombing you with Purell.
“When they scream for the makeup people to come running and bring all kind of hand cleaner, some kind of cleaner. And scrubbing and scraping. It is starting to come off. And I don’t know, three and a half, four minute break. And I got down sort of livable where I thought.
“But usually in the four minutes I am studying my LeBron notes so that because I want first on every topic Friday because Stephen A. likes me to go first so we can stroke his chin, sit back and say no wait a second. Did you say that? Yeah. Yes I did. And what are you going to make of it.
“And I did fine because I just locked back in. And I thought man, am I being tested on this? Who is like stress test? If it’s can you walk back in with blue hands, talk about Wimby and now I’m the alien right?
“And we battled. The other problem is doing digital show on Arena Gridiron. Also do gills Arena usually Wednesday, the basketball show. And it’s a bottomless pit because we go sort of allegedly for two hours.
“But if before rolling we can go for 2 hours and 20 minutes. It just doesn’t matter because there are no commercial breaks obviously on digital. And on TV there are a whole bunch of commercial breaks.
“So I had to recalibrate my delivery and try to shorten up my arguments because you’re going to quickly run out of time. So I wasn’t finished and had to say no I don’t want to go to break. He said we got to go to break. But hang on, we’ll get back to the second half of your argument. And we did.
“And I got to say my piece on LeBron James. And I even got to conclude with another of my favorite nicknames for my man Stephen A. Shay asked me who won the debate. I said well unfortunately once again I turn him back into Stephen A. Myth when it comes to debating.
“I did win every argument. But I’ve won every argument with him 25 years or so I believe. And obviously he believes just the latter. That is the beauty of what wants rekindled at the highest level on Friday without missing a single beat. Stay tuned for my LeBron number 9 video. If you watch it on Friday, thank God. And thank you God.”
