I used to be an avid listener about 4-5 years ago. But eventually it got to be boring, he has good takes and interviews, but after awhile it is a lot of the same thing. And the callers are horrible, even the good ones. Most of them are parrots (why do you think they are called clones?) of what Rome says, and he has little tolerance for folks who don’t really agree with him.
The problem is too often he lets the show get away from it’s strengths.
I listen on the radio here in Huntspatch, errrrrrrrrrrr, Dunceville, errrrrrrrrrrrrrr, Huntsville, AL. You can always tell when a caller from Huntsville is on, since you’ll no doubt hear Whitey’s banjo music in the background.
I listen mainly because there’s nothing else on from 12 to 3. I find most of his “takes” interesting, if not one-sided, and the interviews are usually enjoyable. The callers, for the most part, blow. As Rome would say, “More of me and less of you is a good thing.” Indeed it is. The endless “Orenthal / PEZ Dispenser” faxes and e-mails are just a little played out.
I still think the most amusing Rome-related incident was from his ESPN2 show, when he had Jim Everett as a guest. Yeah, that show, when he kept calling Jim Everett “Chris”, finally provoking the quarterback into jumping over the table and damn near beating the crap out of Rome. Now that was funny.
Why should I bother trying not to suck? Jim Rome is about the worst “sports” talk show there is. He could do his show about needlepoint or basketweaving, and he would still be the same ego driven, I-don’t-care-about-anything-but-giving-myself-props-cuz-I’m-a-pathetic-whiney-loser- who’s-never-gotten-over-the-fact-that-little-girls-used-to-tease-me-and-make-me-cry-so-this-is-the-only-way- I-have-to-feel-good-about-myself asshole he is now. Wanna know why there are no intelegent callers? Cuz by and large his fans are the same people who do a Bevis and Butthead giggle whenever they encounter the word “pussywillow”. His show used to air here, and I tried to call once or twice, but after saying what I wanted to discuss, I was cut off and had to listen to him spout off on the radio, despertly proving to nobody but himself how suave and knowledgeable he was without the inconvienence of a caller who might hold a different POV.
If Y’all like pull no punches sports talk, but at the same time would like a host who is intelegent, respectful of your opinion, and willing to discuss issues, try “Nasty” Nestor Apparicio, heard weekdays from 2-6 EST on the Sporting News Radio Network. I dunno if it’s on in your market, but you can listen live on the internet here.
Weirddave, is it possible that your opinion may be influenced by the fact that (a) you are from B-More (and I admit, Rome was extremely unprofessional in that whole scene with the affiliate), or (b) you got run
I will be the first one in line to put Jim Rome on Asshole Island, along with Tom Green, Puffy Combs, and That Bitch At The Department Of Motor Vehicles (you all know her); however, his show is not caller-driven, and he is up front about that fact.
I find it refreshing to listen to a radio show where the caller expresses his/her opinions and gets the hell out of the way. On the Rome show, one knows that the host will not be tied up in a 20 Minute Great Debate as to whether some pissant 2nd string guy should be the Starting Left Tackle in the Big Game this weekend against the Elon College Fightin Christians.
Part of it has to do with the way he treated B-more, yes, especially 'cuz he had no reason for it. Most of it is just the way he is. Nestor’s show is fast paced too, you can’t get bogged down in obscure discussions on a national show, but he deals with the issue raised, and dosen’t automatically assume every caller is an idiot. As to getting run, it’s easy to do that when your finger is on the cutoff button. W/O that, Rome couldn’t hope to run me with Henny Youngman, Dennis Leary and the entire staff of The Late Show with David Letterman feeding him lines. Exibit “A” is here, 9 posts from the bottom of the page. Rome has all the relevance and weight of a gnat’s fart, coupled with the intelectual might of wilted broccoli.
He’s beyond horrible, dave. His only quality is that he can bray with the best of them, but when you get down to it, that’s all it is - braying. Funny thing is, he would fit RIGHT in with the dipwads in Philadelphia. My guess is that his ego only allows him to be syndicated to the masses. And sorry, but many of the masses who listen to sports-talk radio are sheep. Not all of them, but a lot. Jim Rome simply beats his chest and usually has little of substance to say. And as you correctly pointed out, having a dissenting opinion is verboten on his show. Your opinion simply does not exist, in that situation. You either parrot his whiny comments or you’re not gonna be on the air with him for long. Besides, that ‘getting run’ stuff is just utter nonsense. How can it possibly mean that the host has ‘won’ over some caller, when the host has all of the power to end the conversation, no matter how good the point was that the caller was trying to make? It’s like going up against a bully who has a machine gun, while you have a slingshot.
I’m usually on the phone when I listen to it, and I don’t miss much When something funny is being said, I can tune back in, and the rest of the time, I know not to bother