Ok I can respect that argument.
I have heard about the "how are you" thing but never heard it. I have noticed BD is always the one to say "good thanks".
Whether he likes the sport or not is not prerequisite for me, as long as he can drive the conversation and also be thoughtful on how football effects higher level things like the culture, economy, etc and I think he does an adequate job at that.
The callers they are disrespectful to are often idiots so I could care less about that.
Not saying he is the best but I certainly don't think he deserves the hate.