New York sports radio broadcasting legend Mike Francesa signed off for the final time on WFAN in New York on Friday evening, ending a 44-year run as the leading voice for New York City sports.
Francesa, a legend in the local sports scene in New York, ended his WFAN run on his own terms, giving an emotional signoff that featured his wife as the final caller on his talk show.
Fans and Francesa himself knew that the end was coming, as he announced the decision to seek other employment opportunities earlier in the year. But that doesn’t mean his final show was lacking emotion.
His opening segment involved thanking a long list of 82 people who showed up to bid him farewell on Thursday, and how proud of the show he is.
“This is something we created, a lot of us, something we are all proud of,” Francesa said on Friday, according to the New York Post. “We’ve built something that could last. I’ve had the best job in the world. I’ve never once considered changing my job in 30 years. I loved having this job. It was the right job for me. I was handsomely rewarded. I was successful at it.”
Adorably, it seems his wife was his final caller.
Mike Francesa's wife Roe, who invited Mad Dog to their wedding without telling Mike when the radio partners were off speaking terms off-air, was the final caller on WFAN. Was awesome.
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) December 15, 2017
His final words could not be his trademark “back after this,” but perhaps was more fitting.
"What I'd like to say to you is I'll miss you, thank you, and from the bottom of my heart, I love you. Goodbye" — Mike Francesa's final words on WFAN
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) December 15, 2017
And it sounds like Francesa is really going to miss spending five and a half hours on the air every weekday.
Five and a half hours of no-frills bloviating on the air in his trademark “New Yawkese,” followed by another five hours of focused game-watching into the small hours of the night. The rest of his days have largely involved planning for future shows and future trips — to the Super Bowl, then spring training — on an endless loop.
Not this year. Not after Friday, when Francesa, whose show has been dominating New York’s airwaves practically since its inception in the late 1980s, signs off WFAN for what he insists will be the last time.
“Time to try something new,” he said wistfully during an interview Wednesday, just before airtime.
Something new is still to be determined, but it sounds like Bill Simmons will have him, if he’s willing.
