Nothing Lasts Forever, Not Even The Mikes

After 18 years, Mike Golic (Big Mike) and Mike Greenberg (Little Mike) will conclude their ESPN radio show Mike & Mike on Friday and go their separate ways, though they’ll both remain at the network. Big Mike will start a new show with his son, Mike Golic Jr. (New Mike), and Trey Wingo, who is not a Mike. Meanwhile, Little Mike will debut a program called Get Up in the spring with Jalen Rose and Michelle Beadle, who are also not Mikes.

Little Mike spoke with the Chicago Tribune this week and reminisced about the earlier days with Big Mike, before all the reports and gossip. They were simply two Mikes who found each other and made a connection:

Mike and I had probably crossed paths in the hallway but we certainly didn’t know each other. So I’m filling in and come in to meet Mike. It’s 5 in the morning and he says: “Do you want some coffee?” And I actually said, “You know, I tend to drink tea.” He said to me, “I can make you a pot of tea.” I thought to myself, “What a nice guy this is.” That was my first impression of him, and it proved to be 100 percent right. Mike is a lot of things. He’s funny and opinionated, and at his core he’s just a damn nice guy.　

We went on the air and I could tell he could take to good-natured ribbing. He was much heavier than me. No two ways about it; he was a big man. I said to him, “You know, Mike, we’re just kind of getting to know each other on the air. This is our first conversation ever.” And I said, “If we stood next to each other, we would be the number 10.” To his everlasting credit, he thought that was funny and so did I. We started laughing and never stopped.

People who aren’t in the know can say whatever they want. Few understand what it means to create a true bond with a fellow Mike, to turn to him for guidance, to receive his resolute loyalty. It is a pledge that can withstand any test or foe. The devotion to another Mike is a devotion to a Mike’s self.

Little Mike also hinted that he’s working on an idea for a novel. “I have a thriller concept in mind,” he said.

[ Chicago Tribune]