\jeff{krimmel}

Tearing Up The Radio Waves

One of the most popular afternoon sports talk radio shows in Southern California is the Loose Cannons show on XTRA Sports Radio, which is AM 570 here in the Los Angeles area. There are three hosts: Steve Hartman, Mycal Thompson, and Vic “The Brick” Jacobs. They consistently put on a good show. It gets loud at times (what AM talk radio show doesn’t?), but they generally keep things in check and don’t go overboard too often.

Today most of the show was dedicated to discussing tomorrow’s USC-Texas game, a.k.a. the Rose Bowl, a.k.a. the college football national championship game. A couple of hours into the show, Steve Hartman asked for Texas fans to call in and discuss the game. Because we’re in the heart of Southern California, there is no shortage of Trojans fans willing to talk about the game. But Texas fans are harder to come by.

I decided I would go ahead and call. Neither phone number on the web site was working, so I emailed the show. Surprisingly, within ten minutes I had a response giving me another phone number I should call. I called that number and ostensibly reached the show’s producer. I told him my name, that I was a UT alum, and that I wanted to talk about the game. The waiting began.

Forty five minutes after I made the call, the show’s producer came back on the line and asked if I was still there. I told him I was. After that commercial break ended, Steven Hartman said something to the effect of, “Okay, we have a Texas alum on the phone, and his name is Jeff. Jeff, are you there?” I told him I was, and he did me the pleasure of asking me what it was that made me believe Texas was going to win the game.

This part of the call-in process is severely underrated. On some shows, callers get on, and they are given no help to start a discussion. Some people babble on. Some clear the throats. Others simply stay silent waiting for someone to help them out. Mr. Hartman led right in to what I wanted to say, which was nice. I had a whole page of notes I had made while I was on hold, and I damn near could have filled a whole talk show with just those. Of course I didn’t get a chance to talk about any of that, just the one thought that was on the top of my head when Mr. Hartman asked me that introductory question.

Earlier in the show, the hosts had discussed Fresno State coming into Los Angeles and scoring 42 points on USC earlier in the season. I told them that there are several things that make me think Texas can win this game. Two of them are the relative mismatch in defenses: Texas is the sixth ranked defense in the country; USC is the fortieth. I also mentioned the Fresno State game. I said that no one came into Austin and got anywhere near 42 points. Texas knows how to play itself some defense, especially at home.

Vic immediately jumped in, and here is my paraphrase of our exchange.

Vic: Wait a minute, Jeff. Those Fresno State players were upset because they were denied scholarships to USC. They were frustrated. They felt spurned.

Me: And you don’t think the Longhorns feel spurned? You don’t think four weeks of hearing how USC is going to roll all over them isn’t making them upset? You don’t think watching ESPN talking heads debate whether this year’s USC team could beat the ten greatest college football teams in the last half century isn’t getting Texas worked up?

Vic: Good point, Jeff.

Damn right it’s a good point. USC fans should be worried about that Fresno State game. Any time a team comes in and drops 42 on you at your place, you have to be worried. And even more so when that team is ranked twenty eighth in the nation in total offense. It’s not like they were playing…I don’t know…Texas.

Hook ‘em!