Breaking News: Why Cari Champion really left ESPN's First Take.
Since it's inception, I have been a loyal viewer of First Take. Long before Stephen A. Smith. When it was Skip Bayless vs the World. In 2012 when Stephen A. Smith became a permanent debater and Cari Champion joined as host, the show saw an immediate spike in the ratings. There was a cute face and some calming energy to off set Skip and Stephen A "Step Brothers" esque arguing style. There was finally someone to keep them focused, make timely transitions from one topic to the next and to put a nice, tidy little bow on the 10-15-minute blocks of banter.
Although the show was doing great I never quite felt that everyone was on the same page. Skip had good chemistry with Cari, but she and Stephen A. never seemed to click. In my opinion, it had very little to do with the fact that Skip and Cari were in the studio together every day while Stephen A was mostly via satellite from the road. Cari actually had more in common with Stephen A than with Skip Bayless. Cari Champion is a black woman married to a black man and Stephen A. Smith is a black man. Not that race is important in on-air chemistry. For some reason, the two just didn't have it. Whatever "It" is. Anyone who frequently watches the show knows what I'm talking about. Stephen A always seemed annoyed with Champion. I've never heard him agree with her analysis or validate her opinions.
There were times when Cari cut Stephen A short while he was making a point and blamed it on producers. There were times when she cut segments short with guests that Stephen A was chummy with much to his dismay. Also, Cari would routinely read from the wrong monitor or stumble over her words. If you know one thing about Stephen A. Smith, you know he can't hide his feelings. His face gives it away every time. At least twice a day Cari got the gas face. To her credit, she often ignored Stephen A's looks of exasperation, condescending tone or curt responses. His love affair with Floyd Mayweather didn't do their on-air relationship any favors. Cari, the consummate professional and champion of women's causes often stopped short of slamming Money Mayweather for his alleged treatment of women on several occasions.
Stephen A chose to focus on Floyd Mayweather the businessman, the tactician and icon. Cari did get Smith back by showing overt favoritism to Skip Bayless who took Mayweather to task, handled her with kinder, gentler hands and even when he put her in her place did it with a bit of finesse. On-air chemistry is one of those things where either you have it or you don't. There is no almost, no sort of or no kinda. It's like a shoe. Either it fits or it doesn't. I'm not intimating that Stephen A is a bad guy or that he has something against women regardless of a few off-color remarks he's made about the opposite sex. I supported Stephen A in those incidents. As a sidebar, Champion never publicly admonished Stephen A for his slip-ups. Their lack of chemistry probably wasn't personal. He just seemed to not be very fond of Cari's style of moderating. The company line they spewed on Cari's last episode was that Cari confided in him (Stephen A. Smith) when she began her stint at First Take that she had ambitions of one day becoming a Sports Center anchor. Yeah right!! Because of these reasons, Cari Champion's absence will be noticed but not sorely missed. Get in the comment box and tell me what you think about Cari's stint on First Take.
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