Fitz, Golic Jr.’s chemistry fuel Champ Drive Live’s rise to ATL finale

When Mike Golic Jr. and Jason Fitz started their Champ Drive Live stream on Twitter earlier this season, they didn’t know what to expect.

They had no expectations other than to have some fun and see what happens as they watched a few ESPN College Football games from Golic’s apartment and his parents’ basement.

Fast forward through seven episodes with nearly 1 million viewers each, and you could say they’ve come a long way. At Monday’s College Football Playoff Championship Game in Atlanta, they’ll be inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the final Champ Drive Live of the season at 7-8 p.m. ET on Twitter: @ESPNCFB. Special guests will include Zac Brown Band and Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts.

We caught up with Fitz, who is also a host of SportsCenter on Snapchat and co-host with Sarah Spain of the new Spain and Fitz on ESPN Radio weekdays at 6-9 p.m. ET., to ask him how he and Golic Jr. got from the basement to the big game.

Doing a live Twitter stream is one thing, but from Golic Jr.’s apartment and his parents’ basement? How did that happen?
Mike and I developed a friendship during our time together with CFB Daily and made a point to stay in touch even after the show ended. When I was asked to sit in and guest host on Mike & Mike this summer, we were sort of reunited and it immediately rekindled the “let’s find cool things to do together” conversations. When I got the call that Mike was going to be a part of a college football reaction show in his living room, I jumped at the chance to hang with a friend, where cameras and microphones happen to be in the room. Ha.

The stream has been well-received. What were your expectations going in?
Our expectations were to have fun. Seriously. I know that sounds unbelievable, but our only thought in working together is if we do the homework and come to the table with strong opinions we are doing our job. If we can have a blast and let people see us in the most realistic and unfiltered way possible, people can have a blast along with us. I think some of the best musicians are the ones that make you feel like you’re in their living room when they play shows. We wanted to create that same feeling.

Tara Chozet contributed to this post.
Read more of Jason Fitz’ thoughts on Front Row’s Facebook page.

Join Mike Golic Jr. and Jason Fitz as they break down the first CFP rankings. https://t.co/bGyoe8tVWh

— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) November 1, 2017