By Brandon Simmons
Fox Sports One’s Undisputed already has a slight reputation for mentioning the Dallas Cowboys every other day on their daily show – along with other national sports debate shows in the morning – so it was no surprise that they decided to embrace their rep and add an actual Dallas Cowboy to their debate table. According to Fox Sports, the show will be adding Cowboys linebacker Micha Parsons as a co-host this Fall, alongside hosts Skip Bayless and NFL Hall-of-Famer Shannon Sharpe. Bayless – who is not ashamed of wearing his blue and silver heart on his sleeve – was obviously elated at the news.
“When I first heard this news, it made my day, my week, my month, my year, my career!” Skip exalted, who also shared his excitement with rapper and friend of the show, Lil Wayne. Bayless says that Weezy can’t stand the Cowboys but is fond of Parsons, who he feels will be an amazing talent. Even Sharpe, who is an outspoken critic of the Cowboys as well, was looking forward to this opportunity for the show and eager to ask the young star the tough questions.
“That’s a big deal for us, Skip,” boasted Sharpe. “To get him, an active player of his caliber, to talk to us throughout the entirety of the season is a big deal.”
The legendary tight end made sure to let it be known that he will not be intimidated in bringing the tough questions to the table.
“He might outrun with me with two repaired hips, but he can’t see your boy in that weight room. He don’t want no parts of this.”
This is going to be an interesting experiment, but it could prove successful right off the bat. You have a key representative from the Dallas Cowboys, a team who holds a lot of value in entertainment in the sports world, for good and bad reasons. Yes, this is a storied franchise that has won championships in years past, but in recent memory, they have not lived up to that legacy, despite their fanbase hyping them up to appear otherwise. The over-exaggeration of fans for this team in their recent years have made them a target for jokes, so much so to the point, people sometimes watch their games to see them lose. The high-profile nature of this franchise has put a magnifying glass on this team which could blow up any little storyline. God forbid Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy makes another critical or rumors began to rumble about running back Ezekiel Elliot not looking his old self, just in time for Parsons to come in and speak on those issues.
Speaking of Parsons, it’s a bold move to bring in a young player for something of this magnitude. He is no rookie – and far from a scrub talent-wise – but is he going to offer that “regular peek behind the curtain” of the Dallas Cowboys that Fox Sports says he will do. Despite his high stature on the team, he’s probably not going to reveal as much as being advertised; probably will just offer some surface-level insight into the gameplan but nothing that is going to be the blow up the spot of the franchise as far it concerns other players.
This is also part of the wave of players getting into the commentary space but in more earlier roles. It would usually be that players retire then jump in an analyst role, but things are starting to take a turn. Before he retired, former NFL wide receiver would be on Inside the NFL as a co-host during the season, which led to him starting I Am Athlete. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Tom Brady signed a deal with Fox Sports to become an in-game analyst as soon as he hangs it up. In the NBA, you see guys like New Orleans Pelican guard CJ McCollum and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green who signed their own analyst deals with ESPN and TNT, respectively. Green might have been the more progressive of the bunch, making headlines for recording his podcast while the Warriors were en route to an NBA title. Parsons’ new role is still a concept that’s experimental in nature but proven to work in other areas of the sports media. Expect to see the young star every Tuesday during the regular season.