National sports-focused morning shows are the fast food of sports media. We all know it’s bad for us, but the bright colors and neon signs and extremely high sodium content has us hooked. We know we’re going to hate ourselves for eating it as soon as the last bite is finished, but in the moment, it’s so, so good. I
f the morning shows are fast food, their hot take maestros are the gimmick menu items designed exclusively to drive social media traffic—their only goal to elicit intense reaction, whether positive or negative. That’s the overly-sweet spot I want to focus on.