ESPN shock jock “Mad Dog” Christopher Russo almost got arrested because he took his on-air rant style to the airport where they will no fly zone you with the quickness.
Earlier this week, on an episode of “First Take” Mad Dog, who has more classic rants than Deshaun Watson had charges, really laid into the airlines, leaving any sports take in the rear view.
Mad Dog had a mission when he stepped into ESPN’s studios on Wednesday and it was to get revenge for his travel woes going to Scotland. You let him tell it, it was a travel experience from hell.
Mad Dog Russo Rants For 10 Minutes About Horrible Travel Experience Family Vacation To Scotland
Russo returned for his first episode after a 17-day vacation to Europe to do some father-son golfing, but the trip went left early and Russo didn’t hesitate to reveal the take on First Take.
In a rant that lasted more than 10 minutes, Russo went off about how difficult it was to get his travel group and their golf clubs to Dornoch, Scotland.
There were flight delays, cancellations and even an altercation with the police that Russo admits nearly ended in his arrest.
“You want to fly to Scranton, PA? Jet Blue is for you!” Russo screamed.
“You want to fly to something a little more elaborate like to freakin’ Edinburgh? What a disgrace!
“They kept people on that plane ‘til 1:44 in the morning and threw them the hell out of there!”
Russo Encountered Airplane Travel Problems & Lost Golf Clubs
Russo says he had to re-book everyone on the trip onto new flights, and then he licked verbal shots at British Airways, noting that his son took a circuitous route from Phoenix to Dallas to London to Inverness. Then he had to drive to Dornoch.
When Russo’s son arrived for the golf outing all he had was his clothes in hand as his golf clubs were still missing in action. The search to find those golf clubs, says Russo was another headache, dealing with rude and unhelpful staffers.
“It took me two and a half hours to locate the clubs at Heathrow. They didn’t know where they were!” Russo continued.
“My son needs the golf clubs for crying out loud! Couldn’t find them. We finally found the golf clubs.
“I had the ticket stub, I put Timmy on FaceTime. ‘Timmy, will you tell the people here that the golf clubs are yours and your father, WHO PAID FOR THEM! want to take them out of the airport so I can get you your clubs the next day?’
“They wouldn’t let me take the clubs out of Heathrow!
“So Timmy’s clubs had to stay at Heathrow overnight and he didn’t have his golf clubs on Saturday because British Airways…wouldn’t give it to his father!
Mad Dog Russo Almost Gets Arrested For Yelling At Airport Staff In London
Russo mentioned he had to go to the airport to retrieve the clubs and had a nasty exchange with workers at the airport while trying to retrieve the bags.
“Here’s their answer, ‘It’s protocol, sir.’ I’m not interested in protocol! I’m interested in the 5 iron! I am not interested in that!
“And they called the police on me! I’m a loud American! ‘We’re gonna get the authorities.’
“I don’t give a crap about authorities get the golf clubs where they’re supposed to be!”
Russo said he avoided getting arrested after settling down when the police made it to the scene
First Take Even Stronger Since Adding Chris Russo On Wednesdays
Russo’s rants are classic from his days in the 80s and 90s on New York radio to his appearances on Stephen A. Smith’s award-winning “First Take” sports debate show. When Russo was added to the Wednesday rotation he brought a new audience of middle-aged to senior citizen white males to Smith’s show. Faithful radio listeners and viewers of his “High Heat” show on MLB Network and his Mad Dog Radio on Sirius XM
First Take numbers have been steady under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim.
The weekday ESPN debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 – making it the most-watched year in program history. Its December average of 611,000 was a 24% year-on-year increase compared to 2022. As of June 2025, the show was still pulling in over 400,000 viewers per show.
First Take reported more than 250 million views on YouTube. And with the rants and stories like the one Russo just produced, don’t expect eyes to stop tuning in to see what will be said next.
