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WFAN

soupcan Oct 11 2006 09:45 AM

If you go to [url=http://wfan.com/]WFAN[/url], on the front page there is a list of the station's 'personaliities' and next to them are sound clips from their various shows. I'd post links but can't figure out how. Two clips that I'd recommend are the Mike & The Mad Dog Corey Lidle interview from October 9. It's about 14 minutes long and quite amusing. Seems Mr. Lidle took umbridge with something M&MD said about him and called in to defend himself. Lidle quickly shows that while he may be a professional baseball player he is clearly an amateur on the airwaves. The other clip is about 44 minutes long and it's Steve Somers and Jerry Seinfeld discussing baseball, sports, etc. Not as funny as I had hoped but interesting nonetheless. I believe that you have to have 'RealPLayer' to listen to these.

soupcan Oct 11 2006 09:22 PM

I'm not usually one to toot my own horn but you gotta admit my timing was pretty good on this one.

Valadius Oct 11 2006 09:32 PM

Holy crap. Wow.

KC Oct 11 2006 09:37 PM

"amateur on the airwaves" on the same day something like this happens is pretty freakin' weird.

soupcan Oct 11 2006 09:45 PM

I'm Nostra-dumb ass! (Credit to Nymr83 for that)

Zvon Oct 11 2006 09:47 PM

soupcan wrote: I'm Nostra-dumb ass! (Credit to Nymr83 for that) Yep--that should stick forever- would it be fair to INSIST its added to his avatar space by managment?

soupcan Oct 12 2006 09:29 AM

Hopefully you guys listened to these yesterday because they ain't available anymore. I'm baffled. Why would they pull that Lidle spot now when interest in listening to it would be at an all-time high? Strange decision.

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 09:31 AM

Respect for the dead --- if only symbolic --- trumping interest in hits, I imagine.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 12 2006 09:35 AM

Probably because M&M are now ashamed of what doofuses they were when Lidle was on the show.

soupcan Oct 12 2006 09:36 AM

Since when does that take precedence over dollars? Especially in the media industry? Besides, the interview itself wasn't disrespectful in any way, sure Lidle came off as a boob but it revolved solely around baseball.

TheOldMole Oct 12 2006 09:39 AM

Mike and the Dog ashamed of being doofuses?

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 09:41 AM

They're easily the number one sports outlet in the market. They can afford to pretend to take the high road. In the long run, that's probably the $marter move for the market leader.

MFS62 Oct 12 2006 09:44 AM

Bob Raissman's column from today's Daily News; ]Guilt & regret, but Dog barks on Monday, it was business as usual for Mike Francesa and Chris (Mad Dog) Russo. While rehashing the Yankees' Detroit debacle, they descended on Cory Lidle and pounded him. Pounded him pretty hard. Still, longtime listeners have heard worse crunch jobs from the boys. But Randy Miller, a reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times, who covered the pitcher when he was with the Phillies, text-messaged Lidle and suggested he call WFAN to defend himself. So, there was Lidle phone-to-phone with FranDog. Lidle said he was just trying to "enjoy my day" in New York when he heard he was getting trashed. The idea of a guy whose team was embarrassed in baseball's sacred postseason enjoying himself offended the sensibilities of Mr. Russo, who, on this particular occasion, elected to deliver a sermon on the proper protocol for handling playoff defeat. "First off, no Yankee fan should enjoy the day in New York," Russo said. "If I'm a Yankee I'm in hiding. I'm not enjoying a day in New York." "So I'm not allowed to enjoy the day in New York?" Lidle asked. "What am I supposed to do go cry in my apartment for the next two weeks. Is that what I'm supposed to do?" Two days later, Cory Lidle was dead. As Francesa and Russo reported news of Lidle's plane smashing into a 50-story skyscraper on the upper East Side, that usual spark in Russo's eyes turned into hollow shells. His face portrayed disbelief. And perhaps some guilt. Since May, Russo had put a bull's-eye on Lidle. He let it all hang out on the pitcher, showing exactly why he is known as Mad Dog. He blasted Lidle for hammering Barry Bonds about steroids in Sports Illustrated and giving his former high school buddy - and A's teammate - Jason Giambi a pass. Russo even threatened to stick his gripe in Lidle's face when the Phillies came to Shea. In August, after Lidle was traded to the Yankees as part of the Bobby Abreu deal, Russo brought Brian Cashman into the Lidle hit parade, calling the Yankees GM a liar for saying he would have never made the deal if the pitcher was not included. Cashman, taking the bait, totally lost it on the air ("I'm not lying," Cashman screamed) but Russo continued his relentless pursuit of Lidle. Off the air yesterday, standing at a Shea Stadium bar while talking over a cell phone, Russo recounted these moments. His voice was questioningly sad. "Do I wish right this second I had a better relationship with Cory Lidle? Yeah, I absolutely do," Russo said. "(But) you got to do what you got to do. I don't know what to tell you. You can make the argument that I look like a heel....I've been ripping him for five or six months. Does that make me a bad guy? I'll let others evaluate that." Russo's mouth is not equipped with a set of brakes. Opinions must be offered unconditionally. Those with vanilla flowing through their veins need not apply. When the job description is to slice and dice, you never wonder if the object of your scorn is going to wake up breathing tomorrow. Things move fast. Saturday it was the Yankees hitting rock bottom. Sunday morning George Steinbrenner wanted to fire Joe Torre. Tuesday afternoon Torre is still the manager. And yesterday afternoon Lidle dies after his plane flies into a side of a building. Now, Russo is wondering what would have happened if Steinbrenner had fired Torre followed by this tragedy. What would he and Francesa had have said then? The idea quickly leaves, replaced by one realization: Yesterday afternoon the talkies were at Shea to talk about a Mets playoff game. Under normal circumstances, Russo probably would have laughed about the Mets - due to circumstances beyond their control - once again being relegated to a media afterthought. On this day, there was nothing to smile about. Only a strange feeling. When you make your living offering opinions - many harsh and offensive - there are no give-backs, no do-overs. But yesterday, for Chris (Mad Dog) Russo - there was sadness. And even some regrets. Originally published on October 12, 2006 Later

cooby Oct 12 2006 09:52 AM

I am sad about Lidle, but I will say the same thing I said when my brother in law died crashing his private plane: He died doing something he loved. I am sure the end was still terrifying. Not that I ever listen to Mike and the Mad Dog, but hopefully they will think twice before they have to resort to insults in order to produce a topic.

soupcan Oct 12 2006 10:00 AM

I think Chris Russo is as big an ass as anyone but to say he did anything wrong or he should feel bad because of how he treated Lidle is wrong. He never wished death upon the guy, he simply disagreed with a lot of the things the guy said and did and stated that. Why should he feel any guilt at all? Just because Lidle died a horrible death two days after they had an argument on the air doesn't mean the guys on the radio caused it. This is stupid.

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 10:00 AM

]"Does that make me a bad guy? I'll let others evaluate that." Thanks. ]Those with vanilla flowing through their veins need not apply. Huh? ]When the job description is to slice and dice, you never wonder if the object of your scorn is going to wake up breathing tomorrow. Is that the job description?

metirish Oct 12 2006 10:03 AM

I agree with soupcan, Russo's beef with Lidle went back to the start of the season when Lidle bashed Bonds but never said a word about his friend Giambi and steroids. Francesa and Russo are total wankers though.

cooby Oct 12 2006 10:05 AM

Wankers, I love that. Also I really doubt that God caused Cory Lidle to crash just to get back at little old Chris Russo. That would hardly be just. If he feels guilty about it though, good for him.

Yancy Street Gang Oct 12 2006 10:08 AM

I don't know if his job description is to slice and dice, but he is a commentator, and he's paid to be outspoken. He should feel free to criticize those he disagrees with. Does anyone really think he should have paused and thought to himself, "Gee, Cory Lidle might be dead next week. I can't say anything about someone who might one day be dead."

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 10:10 AM

This seems obvious, but... having firm opinions (even ones that are right 60% of the time) doesn't mean being a raving dick about it.

soupcan Oct 12 2006 10:11 AM

Edgy DC wrote: This seems obvious, but... having firm opinions (even ones that are right 60% of the time) doesn't mean being a raving dick about it. But even if he is a raving dick - he still has no reason to feel guilty.

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 10:17 AM

Sure he does. Raving dicks should feel guilty every damn day. Until they stop raving like dicks. Raving dicks on the airwaves have repercussions throughout society. (I'm raving like a dick, aren't I?)

soupcan Oct 12 2006 10:23 AM

Guilty about being raving dicks not guilty about someone dying two days after they were a raving dick to that person. Feel bad about that sure but guilty? No. Guilt implies that you could've or should've done something differently that would have resulted in a different outcome. I can't see how being nice to Lidle would've or could've prevented his death.

seawolf17 Oct 12 2006 10:26 AM

It's his job to rave like a dick. If he didn't rave like a dick, he wouldn't have any listeners. The whole point of sports talk radio is to make you yell at the radio enough to make you keep listening through the commercial breaks.

Johnny Dickshot Oct 12 2006 10:26 AM

Unless it's a suicide

Ned Fengus Oct 12 2006 10:26 AM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Oct 12 2006 11:03 AM

Most of us probably had parents who said "If you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all" on occasion. If you didn't, I'm sure you've heard the axiom. Difficult words to live by, but virtuous enough to at least give an effort. I have tried to live this way and I have tried to pass it on to my children - with poor results. I am now going to ignore this good advice because the only way I can convey the way I feel toward these two blowhards is by pointing out what they do on a regular basis. They are amazingly pompous (more on that later), arrogant, rude, condescending & and any other like-adjective you would care to apply to them. They are also extremely popular, a fact bore out by their high ratings. What does THAT say about those who listen to them and provide those ratings. I guess the same goes for "followers" of Howard Stern or Jerry Springer. Sleaze sells. Vitriol sells. Invective sells. Hate sells. It's shame really. What clued me in to the "character" of these "fellas" was this. I really hadn't listened to them at all until about a year or so ago. I live in the D.C. area and while I am blessed to be able to listen to WFAN at nights (games & Steve Somers), I am rarely able to get a signal during the day. I had been reading about the duo for years, but never really got to hear them - until one fine day. It must have been a fine day (atmospherically) as I was listening to them fairly clearly at about 4:00p. It must have been John Lennon's birthday or the anniversary of his murder and they were talking about him. A caller gets on the line and attempts to relate his "brush with fame" regarding Lennon. He never got to tell the audience about it. Why? Because blowhard #1 (Francessa) kept interrupting the guy with his opinions about how great John Lennon was and actually cut the call off w/o this guy getting to tell his story. Can you imagine? (no pun intended) This guy has a brush with fame with one of the WORLD'S MOST famous people, and Francessa has the pompous gall to talk over the guy and basically think that his "oh yeah, Lennon was great" crap would be more interesting to the audience. Right then and there, I realized that I had not missed much over the years. I did listen to the archive of the Lidle interview, and it was shameful. Many will say that they were just doing their job. Perhaps, but Francessa couldn't resist the opportunity to be pompous and arrogant once again. When Lidle expressed and interest in coming to meet them, he had to say that he "had never really given Cory Lidle much thought. As far as Russo goes, he's just as bad, IMO. You've heard the phrase - "He's (she's) got a face for radio", right? Well Russo has a voice for the carnival. So, the bottom line is that you "reap what you sow". These guys felt small yesterday when they found out that the guy they crucified two days earlier had met his end in a horrific accident, even wondering if their "treatment" of him might in some way have contributed. Of course this moment of regret will be just that - a moment. Today they will be back on the air as pompous and arrogant as ever. Making predictions as if they were Nostradamus, putting down athletes and generally making asses of themselves - at least in this reporter's opinion. On edit: I apologize for the tome, but it is something that has been eating at me for a while. P.S. - what is it with this site? It always wants me to re-log in

cooby Oct 12 2006 10:29 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 12 2006 10:42 AM

]even wondering if their "treatment" of him might in some way have contributed That's just freakin self centered, if they thought that

cleonjones11 Oct 12 2006 10:34 AM

Media sales and ratings are raised by fear and consumption by any means and anyone available. It's all around us...not just sports...

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 10:38 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 12 2006 10:42 AM

Jeez, I can't think of a better reason to be decent to somebody than the idea that it could be one of the last interactions that person has. I am the newly appointed part-time coordinaor of a non-profit. Since I started, there has been a board-member who has been a pest. He misrepresents himself as being in charge of the program when he's dealing with collaborators and constituents, he interferes with my handling of our volunteer base, and antagonizes suppliers that I'm trying to gingerly goose along. Tonight, I have to confront him at a board meeting, maybe insist on his resignation, and possibly to ask the board to move to dismiss him if he won't seriously desist in his behavior. And I know that (1) it's a personality flaw that he probably has less control over than I wish, (2) he has very little going for him, has put a lot of time (most of it destructive) into this program, and (3) lives at home with his mother, who is in the hospital and maybe seriously ill. If I don't handle this well and behave decently, you bet I'll feel bad. Yeah, I think about what'll happen If I ripped him on Thursday and he was dead on Saturday, sure.

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 10:41 AM

Ned Fengus wrote: On edit: I apologize for the tome, but it is something that has been eating at me for a while. Love the tome. More paragraph breaks, though.

Vic Sage Oct 12 2006 10:44 AM

a quote in today's NY Post from Francesa: "We basically gave him a hard time," Francesa said. "You feel terrible about that." You'll notice he said "You" would feel terrible not "I" feel terrible. In other words, he used the 2nd person voice. Not even a passive "one feels terrible", but "you". A total displacement of his obvious feelings of guilt.Like all bullies, he's even too gutless to take responsibility for his own feelings. "oh, vic, its just an expression. you know what he means". well of course i know what he means. he means he feels terrible, just like anybody else would, thus laying off his guilt as a natural response anyone would have in his position. Own it, Mikey. Your a professional bully. A guy you just bullied on the air flew a plane into a building. If you feel bad about it, say so. don't deflect, evade, water down, pacify, neutralize, or obfuscate your feelings about it. Am i being overly fussy about his choice of words? Oh, i guess so. After all, why would a guy who gets paid millions to communicate his opinions with words spoken on the radio be accountable for the words he chooses to use? IMO, words are important, and the words we choose to use reveal our character.

metirish Oct 12 2006 10:47 AM

] "We basically gave him a hard time," Francesa said. "You feel terrible about that." I went looking for that quote in the online post edition but couldn't find the article....I was struck by what he said when I read it this morning in the print edition...what a jerk.

Yancy Street Gang Oct 12 2006 10:51 AM

Vic, you're absolutely correct. Good observation. Why anyone listens to Mike and the Mad Dog is beyond me.

soupcan Oct 12 2006 10:53 AM

Edgy DC wrote: If I don't handle this well and behave decently, you bet I'll feel bad. Yeah, I think about what'll happen If I ripped him on Thursday and he was dead on Saturday, sure. But you ripping into him doesn't mean that you would cause his possible demise on Saturday. You can't walk around this earth worrying that if you criticize people they will die the next day. Do whatever you have to do and try to do it in a respectful way. You can't be responsible for other people's misery.

soupcan Oct 12 2006 10:53 AM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Vic, you're absolutely correct. Good observation. Why anyone listens to Mike and the Mad Dog is beyond me. It's entertaining, it's sportstalk.

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 11:00 AM

soupcan wrote: You can't be responsible for other people's misery. Sure you can, if you're abusive. That entertainment you listen to is on public airwaves passing itself off as discourse and setting a lowering standard for public discouse every day. A fictional example of the consequences is The Fisher King. A real-world example, though the names may change in your life: Have you ever had this refelection on somebody?: "Jeez, Tom and Karen were always right-wingers, but they were always cool and respectful and open-minded about it until they started listening to Ann Coulter. Now, they're frothing and abusive and ill-humored and nobody wants to talk them at all."

Ned Fengus Oct 12 2006 11:04 AM

Edgy DC wrote: More paragraph breaks, though. Picky, picky Better?

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 11:06 AM

Seriously, great post, Ned.

Ned Fengus Oct 12 2006 11:08 AM

Edgy DC wrote: Seriously, great post, Ned. Thanks Edge - all donations accepted. ;)

Frayed Knot Oct 12 2006 11:10 AM

]what is it with this site? It always wants me to re-log in When you log in there's some sort of "Remember Me" box which, if checked, should prevent you from having to re-log each time. P.S. Paragraph breaks just makes one's take more readable. No one's trying to be an English teacher here (although some will occasionally act like it) but stuff that's tough on the eyes tends to be scanned rather than read.

Ned Fengus Oct 12 2006 11:17 AM

Frayed Knot wrote: When you log in there's some sort of "Remember Me" box which, if checked, should prevent you from having to re-log each time. I've tried it and it doesn't seem to help. Frayed Knot wrote: P.S. Paragraph breaks just makes one's take more readable. Yeah, yeah I know. I was just bustin' chops.

soupcan Oct 12 2006 11:48 AM

="Edgy DC"] ="soupcan"]You can't be responsible for other people's misery. Sure you can, if you're abusive. Agreed but that's not what I'm saying. You can't not do the right thing (in your case the right thing is confronting the board member with his less than productive behavior) just because you're leery of what the person might do as a result of being dressed down. I said do what you have to in as respectful of a way that you can. If after that the person comes to an untimely end either by his/her own hand or someone else's why should you regret your actions? This person should be allowed to continue their abusive behavior because you're afraid of what they might do if you confront them with it? P.S. The M&MD interview is back up at WFAN.com. So much for respect for the dead.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 12 2006 11:52 AM

]They are amazingly pompous (more on that later), arrogant, rude, condescending & and any other like-adjective you would care to apply to them. Well stated Ned.

Edgy DC Oct 12 2006 11:54 AM

My problem is that I'm typically non-confrontational, because once I do let that genie out of the bottle, I tend to lose my composure quickly, turn into a raving dick out of proportion with the situation, and regret it later. It's all or nothing with me, baby. Milquetoast or firebrand, Danny Kaye or Don Rickles. Which will it be tonight? Tune in tomorrow. I'm thinking of just giving my report, and ending it with "Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, the Mets are on. Good evening."

SteveJRogers Oct 12 2006 05:40 PM

soupcan wrote: ="Yancy Street Gang"]Vic, you're absolutely correct. Good observation. Why anyone listens to Mike and the Mad Dog is beyond me. It's entertaining, it's sportstalk. Can say the same for any talk radio program. Ron Kuby said he was set to pop open a special champagne bottle when Ronald Regan died, Lord knows how many insults a Bob Grant, Michael Savage, ect have hurled on the other side as well. Ditto with even the "humor" shows like Opie and Anthony, Stern, Imus, ect. It gets to the point where your only two alternatives are music and 24 hour news stations.

metsmarathon Oct 12 2006 07:09 PM

funny, i find that when i start screaming a the radio, i tend to either turn the station or continue listening to see if somebody is stupid enough to try and change an ill-formed yet stubbornly held opinion. the dumber the radio host is acting, teh less likely there is a chance of meaningful dialogue. and without meaningful dialogue, why listen, really? i guess i'm different. i listen to the radio - yes even sports talk radio - to learn. maybe its to learn what people think, or whats going on in the sports world. i don't pften find myself yelling at the radio when i listen to 1050. i may disagree with them often, but rarely do i find the need to yell. i figure i'd have a chance, if i actually bothered enough, to call in and actually talk with those hosts, maybe even disagree and be given the time of day to be able to voice my differing opinion. i wouldn't begin to delude myself into thinking that i could get a word in edgewise on m&md. and therefore i hardly listen to them. that they would be viewed as a model of what sports talk radio hosts should be like is akin to me of viewing TO as a model of what athletes should be like.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 12 2006 07:11 PM

I play CDs in the car. I'm much happier that way.

KC Oct 12 2006 07:15 PM

EDC: >>>once I do let that genie out of the bottle, I tend to lose my composure quickly, turn into a raving dick out of proportion with the situation, and regret it later.<<< Wow, glad to hear you admit it. I hate that trait in people.

Edgy DC Oct 13 2006 01:58 AM

SteveJRogers wrote: ="soupcan"] ="Yancy Street Gang"]Vic, you're absolutely correct. Good observation. Why anyone listens to Mike and the Mad Dog is beyond me. It's entertaining, it's sportstalk. Can say the same for any talk radio program. Ron Kuby said he was set to pop open a special champagne bottle when Ronald Regan died, Lord knows how many insults a Bob Grant, Michael Savage, ect have hurled on the other side as well. Ditto with even the "humor" shows like Opie and Anthony, Stern, Imus, ect. It gets to the point where your only two alternatives are music and 24 hour news stations. (1) If this is meant to imply that all radio personalities are raving and abusive, that's untrue. (2) What's wrong with music?

TheOldMole Oct 13 2006 07:40 AM

I have XM in my car, which means I can listen to Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, Gunsmoke, Philip Marlowe and The Shadow, and small doses of Rob Dibble and Kevin Kennedy or Al Franken, plus a wonderful assortment of music. My 6-year-old grandson likes to listen to the Latino hip-hop station, and I've gotten to like that. I never even think about Mike and the Dog any more, much less miss them.

HahnSolo Oct 13 2006 02:35 PM

Within a half hour of starting their show, Mike and the Mad Dog griped about stealing other team's traditions...Sweet Caroline, Sandman, etc. Like this is important. (side note, I agree on Sweet Caroline) But they said the Mets fans did the Roll Call, and I was in the stadium and didn't hear it. Anyone else hear it? I don't know why the Mets allow them to do their show from Shea...they avoid talking about the Mets, and when they do, it's to stir up trouble.

Edgy DC Oct 13 2006 02:40 PM

The rollcallers have appeared to be a minority.

Willets Point Oct 13 2006 02:44 PM

Think of all the other teams' fans who use the rally cap and some variation on "Ya Gotta Believe!" I think we should sue their asses.

metirish Oct 13 2006 02:46 PM

Let us all be happy that we don't have to endure " who let the dogs out" this postseason.

Willets Point Oct 13 2006 02:47 PM

Better than "Taking Care of Business."

Gwreck Oct 13 2006 02:48 PM

There was no "roll call" at Shea Stadium last night (at least not from 7:30 until the end of the game). There was some chanting of individual players names (ie. "En-dy Cha-vez" when they were intentionally walking Wright in front of him) and the "Paul Lo-Duca" chants that seem to be at every game, but there was nothing done that remotely approached what's done at the Yankee games (ie. all the players, at the same time, etc). I'm in total agreement on the Sweet Caroline thing too, but this seems to be a dead horse. As for Enter Sandman, I guess if you tell a blatant lie and repeat it frequently people take it as truth. If anything, Rivera stole Wagnerr's tradition.

Yancy Street Gang Oct 13 2006 02:50 PM

The whole concept of hanging up signs to count pitcher's strikeouts originated with Mets fans and the K Korner back in 1984. But the bigger point is that this is a foolish thing to devote radio time to on a major market station, especially when the local team is in the playoffs. It could be inane hot stove chat, or a way to pass time on an off day, but not today. There's enough on-the-field intrigue to fill their entire stupid show. What did they do after that, talk about the Neilson ratings for last weekend's football games? I always found that especially enthralling.

metirish Oct 13 2006 02:53 PM

]What did they do after that, talk about the Neilson ratings for last weekend's football games? I always found that especially enthralling. hahaha..I fucking hate it when they do that,Russo will ask Francesa to guess the ratings in the NY market and national...of course Mr.know-it-all acts all high and mighty when given the ratings....what an ass.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 13 2006 02:57 PM

I like Who Let the Dogs Out. I like Takin' Care of Business. Irish and Willets are a couple of fuddy duddies!

Elster88 Oct 13 2006 03:13 PM

Gwreck wrote: There was no "roll call" at Shea Stadium last night (at least not from 7:30 until the end of the game). There was some chanting of individual players names (ie. "En-dy Cha-vez" when they were intentionally walking Wright in front of him) and the "Paul Lo-Duca" chants that seem to be at every game, but there was nothing done that remotely approached what's done at the Yankee games (ie. all the players, at the same time, etc). I'll add on to what Gwreck said. The "roll call" is a very cool thing....but the only part that is unique to Yankee Stadium is the actual part that makes it a roll call, calling out each player one at a time until he waves. I hate to break it to M&MD and Yankee fans, but the generic four-syllable chant followed by five claps has been happening a long time before bone-headed Yankee bandwagoners came along. "Let Go Hus-Kies" is my personal favorite version of that chant. If Met fans did the "roll call" portion I would have a problem with it. But they don't, they only do the generic chant. Which of course is fine. NOTE: I can't STAND the playing of Sweet Caroline. That is genuine thievery. Let's find our own goddam song.

seawolf17 Oct 13 2006 03:15 PM

Why do I listen to Mike & The Dog? Because at 5:30 yesterday, after they were done interviewing Tim McCarver and went to commercial, I switched over to 1050 to see if they were interviewing anyone, and Michael Fucking Kay was talking to some moron on the phone about Alex Fucking Rodriguez, two and a half hours before a fucking NEW YORK METS playoff game. Jerkass.

Edgy DC Oct 13 2006 03:16 PM

The problem with "Takin' Care of Business" --- a more or less OK song that rocked the first 1000 times you heard it --- is that, surprise, they're missing the irony of it. The title comes from Elvis favorite slogan, which he and his posse eventually shortened to "TCB." It wasn't necessarily about working hard, but going onstage, glamming it up, giving the people what they wanted, and getting to live the eternal party in Vegas the other 23 hours of the day. BTO grabbed this and ran with it, lording over the depressed commuting masses that they didn't choose to "be a musician" like Randy, Chad, Robbie, and Fred, who "love to work at nothing all day." Sure, it's OK and it rawks the stadium a little bit, but I'm a little leery of even impliictly celebrating the notion of a crew that just gets the job done and parties the rest of the day. We've been through that with a greater team than this one, and the returns diminished quicker than I was ready for.

Frayed Knot Oct 13 2006 03:42 PM

* The thing about 'Sweet Caroline' is that it's the stadium mgmt that's doing that and not the fans. On this, I think we all agree; don't "choose" something that's already an established tradition somewhere else! * A handful of fans at Shea have tried starting a Yanqui-style "roll call" on a couple of occasions over the last year or two. It rarely lasts or generates any kind of following - nor should it. THAT is the perfect example of fans attempting to steal something that's unique to another group of fans. * I first remember seeing "K signs" being done for Nolan Ryan - probably from when he was out in Anaheim. It wasn't new to Gooden and the mid-80s Shea, but it's also a generic enough tribute that I'm not sure anyone can really be accused of "stealing" it. * Sandman - This has been beaten into the ground already. The whole "controversy" was stupid from the git-go ... 'nuff said.

Edgy DC Oct 13 2006 03:48 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: THAT is the perfect example of fans attempting to steal something that's unique to another group of fans. It's also the perfect example of the audience at large not buying in.