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One of the most infamous calls in the history of Mike Francesa’s career has spurned the creation of bringing an odd moment to life. A decade ago, when Francesa was hosting afternoons on WFAN, he received a call from “Dan in Warwick.”
Dan went on to ask the legendary New York City sports radio host if he believed the New York Giants and San Francisco Giants get together when the two teams cross paths on the road—all because they share the same name, while one played in New York and the other used to call the Big Apple home.
Now, the concept from “Dan in Warwick” has evolved into a smash video promotion for Eli Manning’s podcast, The Eli Manning Show. Francesa joined WFAN on Thursday to share the back story of how the video shoot came about.
“About two months ago they asked me if I would do Eli’s [Manning] podcast. Eli and I have always maintained a good relationship,” said Francesa. “It was all them, give them credit. It was Eli and his and his people. They sent me the storyboards, and I loved it.”
Francesa, leaning into the viral moment from ten years ago, has been stunned by the reaction to the thirty-second video piece. He told WFAN that it took a couple of takes and a couple of different versions before landing the final product.
“I knew it was going to be good. Obviously, it turned out,” said Francesa. “That call [Dan in Warwick] surprised me. It’s the call that I think got the most reaction in the history of the entire WFAN.”
Furthermore, the thirty-second video was shot on a day when the San Francisco Giants were in town to play the New York Mets. Francesa noted he met the crew at the hotel the day of the shoot and was surprised that even the Giants’ players were thrilled to do the commercial, knowing the history of the phone call.
The Eli Manning Show is housed on the New York Giants’ official team YouTube page. While he noted that he was asked to do the podcast with Eli, Francesa also pointed out that his relationship with the Giants franchise is not as good as it once was.
“I have a good relationship with Eli. I don’t have a good relationship with the Giants since the Gettleman days, because I was very hard on Gettleman,” said Francesa. “I think if I went there now, I would not be very welcome. I haven’t been in the good favor. I used to have a great relationship with the Giants. I think now I would say I have a poor relationship.”
Looking ahead, season five of The Eli Manning Show is set to debut soon. However, there has not been a release date announced yet for the episode featuring Mike Francesa.
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