Thursday, September 10, 2009

What Happened to Our Favorite Sports Talk Show?

We've been listening to The Jim Rome Show pretty much every day since 1995. And the fact is that lately it has changed significantly for the worse. Always a polarizing figure, Rome has veered toward a bland, edgeless broadcast that borders on the unlistenable schlock available on pretty much every other sports talk show. The interactivity between host and listener that was originally a hallmark of the Jungle is essentially gone and the host's strong viewpoints have been toned way down.

The one noticeable change is the abrupt departure of long time producer Travis Rodgers. Rodgers, who crafted much of the show's largely scripted content, left the show with conspicuously little fanfare awhile back and the show is clearly the worse for it. Rodgers has recently resurfaced on Twitter, and even more recently with a new blog.


Don't get us wrong, Rome is a unique and formidable talent. His imprint on the sports media landscape is undeniable, but he is perhaps a victim of his own success. Were he lesser known would he be more willing to play fast and loose with his opinions, as well as allow his callers and e-mailers a bit more creative leeway? Whatever the issue for Rome, the bottom line is that his once funny and entertaining show is currently neither.


2 comments:

david no longer in albany said...

your very right in this post. rome's not what he used to be. these days i wish he would go do espn and leave radio. the 2 live stews from 1 pm to 4 pm eastern are where its at now if you want to call in. theres no smackoff, etc....but its more sports talk and its an easier show to make a name on than rome is now.

OCNudist said...

I caught a couple minutes of the Stews one time. It just got kinda hard to hear after my ears started to bleed and my brain started melting like a puppy in a hot car. Other than that, those guys are great.