I did not wake up on a slow news Wednesday expecting a peal of life wisdom to fall from the tongue of Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo. He comes in out of the bullpen on ESPN’s First Take, bringing heat, as the bluster from the AM radio past going up against the cable television present top gas bagger, Stephen A. Smith.
Skip & Skip: Condescending
The two debate sports topics at 102 miles per hour. Their takes whizzing back and forth past Molly Qerim, and sometimes directly into the thigh of J.J. Redick. But this Wednesday, Russo stumbled into some life advice that we should all take to heart on our journeys that should be headed towards self-actualization.
He said on First Take, “I’m my favorite company.” A statement that at face value could be considered narcissistic. However, when taken in full context, it is actually evidence of a well-adjusted person with positive self-esteem that we should all try to emulate.
Four minutes after Russo predicted Oregon would defeat Colorado on Saturday, 35-10, Smith put him on blast. He revealed that two weeks prior, Russo bet on Colorado to beat Nebraska after railing against Deion Sanders.
Not only did Russo have a satisfactory grin on his face while Smith betrayed him on national television, he explained in great detail exactly how he will do the same thing this upcoming Saturday. He will be fleeing a weekend of unpleasant weather in the tri-state area to visit his son in Flagstaff, Ariz. On the day of the game, he will have some early cocktails, space out his consumption of a gummy, and bet $10,000 on Colorado to win.
To me, it sounds like an excellent Saturday, but someone needs to inform Russo that if he sticks to his schedule of first cocktail and gummy half at noon, and then places his bet at 3:25 p.m., it will be too late. Flagstaff is in the Mountain Time Zone, so the game will begin on his television at 1:30 p.m.
What is more important though, is that when Qerim poked fun at Russo for planning this grand day all alone with his wife out of town, he responded with “I’m my favorite company.” We should all be our own favorite company, because we are all with ourselves at all times.
Too many of us have trouble being alone. We have to call someone, jump in a group text, go live on Instagram, stay in a miserable relationship because nothing can be as bad as the cold void left by an empty half of the bed.
The only person with you 100 percent of the time is you. In the car, on the subway, at the sandwich shop, on your porcelain throne, you cannot escape yourself. Since that is reality, you might as well enjoy yourself.
It shouldn’t be as hard to be alone as Patti LaBelle sang it in “On My Own.” “I wish that we could do it all again (on my own)/I never dreamed I’d spend one night alone (by myself.)” Heartbreak is a beast, but what she is most upset about is being alone.
No one is going to keep you happy if you don’t love yourself first, and social media will eventually make you feel terrible. Mad Dog has it right, and we should seek a Saturday like the one he has planned — although maybe sans the $10,000 college football wager.
So get out there and take a walk, pop gummy, combine the activity, and get a little spicy, do whatever it takes to get you on the path to becoming your favorite company.