If you were listening to ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago on October 12th, 1998, you could've heard the first on-air pairing of Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg on public radio, with the program known as "Mike and Mike in the Morning." The show followed from Golic's old show with ex-co-host Tony Bruno (creatively titled the "Bruno-Golic Morning Show"), which ran for three years before Bruno left. The new pairing took advantage of the difference in personality between Greeny and Golic, the former ostensibly a more cultured, domesticated sort and the latter the alpha-male jock, a juxtaposition that the two have ridden now for over a decade on ESPN radio and TV.
A key moment in sports radio history for obvious reasons, but a notable event in Philly sports history as Golic spent his previous life as a defensive lineman in the NFL, with a five-year tenure as an Eagle. Golic was a core defender on the Buddy Ryan Gang Green defense of the late-80s and early-90s, though his final career stats ended up being less than gaudy (11.5 sacks, three interceptions--after all of which he was then tackled by the opposing quarterback). "I'm certainly not going to go down as one of the greatest players ever," said Golic about his playing days. "I was a blue-collar player and I was a team guy and I did what I had to do for the team. I'm proud of that, I really am."
Personally, all I can say about "Mike and Mike" now is that if I flip past it on TV, it's probably either too late or too early for me to be awake.
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