New Jersey governor Chris Christie may be making a shift from politics to sports when he was tapped as a possible candidate to replace Mike Francesa.
Chris Christie is one of those politicians who is larger than life. But for some reason, it hasn’t translated to a successful career in that field. As the current Governor of New Jersey, he ran for President in the last election season. When Donald Trump eventually got the Republican nomination, he lobbied to be a part of his transition team, but he was eventually dropped for Mike Pence. And as Governor, he’s received calls for impeachment.
But Christie is an outspoken person, and feels as though he can still contribute positively to society. Longtime New York radio host Mike Francesa’s contract with WFAN runs out at the end of the year, and according to USA Today, Chris Christie is on the short list of candidates to replace him, especially since he’s set to leave office shortly after Francesa’s contract is up.
There are people who firmly believe that sports and politics shouldn’t mix. But it’s not as if Christie is heading into uncharted territory by doing this. He co-hosted the Boomer and Carton show 10 times since last year, and is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to sports.
Christie’s a diehard New York Mets fan, which will set well with his core audience, although he may upset them when it comes to football. That’s because he’s a Dallas Cowboys fan, and was seen in the press box with Jerry Jones during a playoff game two years ago. And on the other side, former pitcher Curt Schilling is currently making a living hosting a hard right radio show for Breitbart.
Francesa’s had his fair share of detractors, but he’s still a seasoned vet when it comes to sports talk radio. It’ll be hard for anyone, let alone a politician, to take over for him once he leaves, especially in a sports market as big as New York. But if anyone’s going to take over one of the godfathers of New York sports radio, it should be a name that’s instantly recognizable. Christie might be the only person who could possibly live up to Francesa’s stature.