People have been roasting on ESPN's Get Up since the show debuted this past spring. I'm not a media analyst nor am I that typical blogger that lives to dump on everything ESPN does so this isn't just me piling on.
I just don't like the show either.
To me, Get Up suffers from the un-likability factor. I just don't like the people hosting it or anything they talk about. Mike Greenberg is just grating to me. I loved listening to Mike & Mike every morning on my way to work. I only have a 15 minute commute that begins at 6:30 a.m. so I just catch the main topic but I enjoyed it. Over the years, though, 'Greeney' just soured to me. I understand the premise is a jock and a nerdy superfan debating topics all morning but I just came away annoyed with Greenberg. The way Mike & Mike ended didn't help my impression of him either and I've found myself watching the simulcast of Golic & Wingo instead of Get Up.
I like Michele Beadle in her NBA world -- not outside it. On Get Up, she just seemed to be some pissed off anchor who didn't want to be there. While I can respect her position on the matter, her rant about not watching football anymore (especially when her employer pays a ton of money to broadcast the NFL and college) couldn't have went over well. She's just been removed and sent back to her NBA duties.
As for Jalen Rose, I've had a weird feel about him ever since he was at Michigan. I did love him on Jalen & Jacoby as the "ask me my opinion and give me room to tell it" format worked well for him. He also does okay when there are other experts on set with him that can put him in check. The problem with Get Up is that there is none of that. I'm also shocked at how bad he is on the trivia segments of the show.
So there is the lack of chemistry that is a problem. It is also too long ... which will apparently be remedied by reducing the show to two hours instead of three. Each of the three hours felt like a rerun of the same show. Also, this show feels a lot like a reboot of their old show Cold Pizza that turned its catchiest segment into First Take. The main difference is that Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson were likable and the "1st and 10" segments were interesting. Now the day is filled with people debating each other on ESPN with the same topics and just different people so that's not as relevant anymore.
I'd rather they go back to morning SportsCenters again. Maybe they can tweak Get Up into a different kind of show. One where Greenberg does more interviews (which I do think he's good at). They just need to do something because it just doesn't work. I tried to give it a solid chance but it just doesn't do it for me.
