I always defend WGR...

[Griswold]

Yee haa. 17 pages of posts talking about a shock jock!

 

Pfft. The last I listened to WGR was when Stan Roberts was on the air... I listened while I was delivering the Courier Express.

 

Dang. I am an OLD GOAT.

[Kelly the Dog]

You guys should hang around a bunch of comics and comedy writers at the Improv in West Hollywood. Talk about a bunch of bitchy negative whiners. They make Sully come across like Richard Simmons getting goosed on Valentine's Day. And only about one out of ten of them are funny.

 

But that one is pretty !@#$ing funny.

[Delete This Account]

You guys should hang around a bunch of comics and comedy writers at the Improv in West Hollywood. Talk about a bunch of bitchy negative whiners. They make Sully come across like Richard Simmons getting goosed on Valentine's Day. And only about one out of ten of them are funny.

 

But that one is pretty !@#$ing funny.

Finally, a voice of reason.

 

jw

[Lurker]

They make Sully come across like Richard Simmons getting goosed on Valentine's Day. And only about one out of ten of them are funny.

Don't give up your day job just yet, Kelly...

[Watching since 1964]

Sullivan delivers some good one liners in his chats.

 

Someone asked him if he prefers blue cheese or ranch on wings.

 

He replied 'blue cheese, but sometimes I go commando to save a few bucks.'

[Kelly the Dog]

Don't give up your day job just yet, Kelly...

Unfortunately, it is my day job.

[Kelly the Dog]

Sullivan delivers some good one liners in his chats.

 

Someone asked him if he prefers blue cheese or ranch on wings.

 

He replied 'blue cheese, but sometimes I go commando to save a few bucks.'

 

Sully's chats are remarkably good.

[SectionC3]

And while this is all very beguiling, it doesn't address the original, albeit fumbled, point of this thread.

 

Schopp said he doesn't like talking about the Bills and only does it because his job says he has to, period. We all heard it. And no phony-ass denials from WGR or their surrogates(um, Preston) changes that.

 

Having an(I'll be as fair as I can be) objective attitude towards work is one thing. But complaining about doing your job on air, especially when you have a reasonably successful show, supposed support from your sponsors, and people carrying so much water for you that they are still spinning up the positive 16 pages into a thread:

 

is not excusable, and exposes your contempt for your audience. Beyond being fairly unprofessional and stupid(see: 16 pages of this thread that has brought all kinds of trouble, program director quotes, nonsense defensive spin, and appearances from other members of the press), Schopp's comments simply aren't that entertaining, relevant, or interesting.

 

Would more people buy your stories if you complained about having to cover the Bills? How does Schopp complaining about having to talk about the Bills help the "business"? Most importantly: Why has there been a SIGNIFICANT uptick in Bills/NFL coverage every single day since these stupid comments were made? Coincidence?

 

"Contempt for the audience" is the best description I have ever heard of Mike Schopp. Some veteran GR listeners may remember Dickerson's cycle - at first people liked him because he was unique and smart (make no mistake - the man is incredibly intelligent), then they got tired of his negativity, but still listened because he aggravated them, and finally they tired of his act turned him off. Two things stick out in my mind re: the Coach: there was a post-game show, and I believe it followed a Dolphins game, where he got NO PHONE CALLS. Crazy, but true. The real sign of the end for him was the "What's wrong with the Coach show" in probably late 2001 or early 2002. He had a fair number of calls, but the sentiment seemed to be that people were just worn out by his act. Schopp isn't there yet, but his time is coming . . . Contempt for his audience is such an elegant, perfect characterization of his act.

[Watching since 1964]

Sully's chats are remarkably good.

 

The format does seem to work for him, and I think he likes it.

 

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a lot of fun with it covering the Cards. He calls himself the Chatmeister and his chats 'the tsunami'. lol

[Watching since 1964]

And while this is all very beguiling, it doesn't address the original, albeit fumbled, point of this thread.

 

Schopp said he doesn't like talking about the Bills and only does it because his job says he has to, period. We all heard it. And no phony-ass denials from WGR or their surrogates(um, Preston) changes that.

 

Having an(I'll be as fair as I can be) objective attitude towards work is one thing. But complaining about doing your job on air, especially when you have a reasonably successful show, supposed support from your sponsors, and people carrying so much water for you that they are still spinning up the positive 16 pages into a thread:

 

is not excusable, and exposes your contempt for your audience. Beyond being fairly unprofessional and stupid(see: 16 pages of this thread that has brought all kinds of trouble, program director quotes, nonsense defensive spin, and appearances from other members of the press), Schopp's comments simply aren't that entertaining, relevant, or interesting.

 

Would more people buy your stories if you complained about having to cover the Bills? How does Schopp complaining about having to talk about the Bills help the "business"? Most importantly: Why has there been a SIGNIFICANT uptick in Bills/NFL coverage every single day since these stupid comments were made? Coincidence?

 

[ans4e64]

You guys should hang around a bunch of comics and comedy writers at the Improv in West Hollywood. Talk about a bunch of bitchy negative whiners. They make Sully come across like Richard Simmons getting goosed on Valentine's Day. And only about one out of ten of them are funny.

 

But that one is pretty !@#$ing funny.

 

Is Kelly really complaining that people are whiny and bitchy?

[Delete This Account]

You and I just happen to have different opinions about Sullivan, and we're both basing them off of our encounters with him, so I'll gladly agree to disagree on that point.

I'm all for that.

 

Keep in mind, though, a press box, too, is a very charged environment filled with people dealing with the pressures of deadline and trying to come to grips with what they might be writing with the inner clock relentlessly tick-tocking. It sometimes borders on panic, and there is nervous energy that needs to be expended.

 

And I'm not speaking for Sully, but I know I'm a bit of a near-wreck on game day, knowing I've got 106 players to be dealing with, never mind coaches, executives, etc.

And should something serious happen to any one of those people -- Everett -- or the power go out -- Bills-Chargers -- or someone cap a comeback on a last-second play -- too many times to count -- I've got to be able to turn on a dime at a moment's notice.

 

Not easy, but I'm not complaining. As Doctor Hunter S. Thompson once put it, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."

That's the rush and the challenge that comes with the job, and many of us are dealing with that, and we all handle it in many different ways. And I think that's why there's not an open bar anywhere near. Far too tempting

 

That said, to fulfill the objective of the original poster, I must include Mike Schopp in this missive, so here goes. Based on some of the comments made in this thread alone I have newfound respect and appreciation for what all the radio folks have to deal with on a daily basis.

 

jw

[billsrcursed]

I'm all for that.

 

Keep in mind, though, a press box, too, is a very charged environment filled with people dealing with the pressures of deadline and trying to come to grips with what they might be writing with the inner clock relentlessly tick-tocking. It sometimes borders on panic, and there is nervous energy that needs to be expended.

 

And I'm not speaking for Sully, but I know I'm a bit of a near-wreck on game day, knowing I've got 106 players to be dealing with, never mind coaches, executives, etc.

And should something serious happen to any one of those people -- Everett -- or the power go out -- Bills-Chargers -- or someone cap a comeback on a last-second play -- too many times to count -- I've got to be able to turn on a dime at a moment's notice.

 

Not easy, but I'm not complaining. As Doctor Hunter S. Thompson once put it, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."

That's the rush and the challenge that comes with the job, and many of us are dealing with that, and we all handle it in many different ways. And I think that's why there's not an open bar anywhere near. Far too tempting

 

That said, to fulfill the objective of the original poster, I must include Mike Schopp in this missive, so here goes. Based on some of the comments made in this thread alone I have newfound respect and appreciation for what all the radio folks have to deal with on a daily basis.

 

jw

 

To be fair, he brings it on himself. It's no mystery that the Bills are the 1 TRUE love of Buffalo, although the Sabres are a close 2nd. To insinuate he only speaks of the Bills because it's his job, coupled with his tasteless remarks to most callers, certainly begs insults, crude comments, and threads such as this epic beauty.... I'm actually shocked you're so taken by some of the posts here. Do you mingle with Buffalonians much? Do you not realize the attachment between team and city? We may hate how bad the team has been, how the FO('s) handles things, blah blah blah, but insult the Bills or Buffalo as a city and you can pretty much expect a pooh storm that may never end. I thought that was common knowledge??

[bbb]

This thread is two to three years too late.........Schoop is way better than he used to be.

[OCinBuffalo]

"Contempt for the audience" is the best description I have ever heard of Mike Schopp. Contempt for his audience is such an elegant, perfect characterization of his act.

Thanks. The Senator keeps asking why we listen to this "trash". Well, I have a new reason now.

 

You know the part of the show that I enjoy the most? It's when callers, sometimes as many as 5 in a row, first get on and ask "how's it going". Seriously, I think that is the funniest part of the whole show. It's hysterical to me because these simpletons always respond with a sarcastic "we're fine".

 

The funny part is that they think the joke is on the caller, because the caller doesn't realize that they are making fun of him/her. They sit in their own private "hell"(they created for themselves), because no matter how condescending they are, it has absolutely no effect. Tomorrow at least 5 people will do it again, and there's nothing they can do about it. They even complained on air about it for a while...no effect either! "Whaaa! The worst thing about my job is people ask me how I'm doing. Whaaa! How do I make it stop????"

 

Instead of seeing it as the positive it truly is = callers ask this because this is the first question people from this state ask out of politeness with strangers and genuine curiosity with friends, Schopp and the Bulldog choose to get irrationally annoyed by it. Insecurity? Lack of Wisdom? Low Intelligence? Drama queen behavior? Doing a poor Howard Stern imitation? Take your pick.

 

It's funny watching supposedly smart people push on a door labeled "pull". It's the same as listening to these guy haze themselves every day desperately trying to come off as "smarter" than the callers, and still not getting that door opened no matter how hard they push.

[Watching since 1964]

Billsrcursed and OCinBufffalo,

 

You guys do a way better job here of providing 'sports talk for smart people.'

 

[Delete This Account]

I'm actually shocked you're so taken by some of the posts here. Do you mingle with Buffalonians much? Do you not realize the attachment between team and city?

Respectfully:

I think a lot of stuff, rightly/wrongly, goes over some people's heads, and that's what makes it a little frustrating in attempting to make a point.

My response to Bandit was in regards to his post. My reference to Mike was a couched jab at Lurker and Ans4e64 for their earlier responses to my posts.

I realize this post is debating Schopp and what he said/didn't say, meant/didn't mean. And yet, like all good discussions, the conversation has taken several tangents.

 

And I'm suddenly coming to realize that's what makes good radio, a good conversation that meanders in many different directions, forcing listeners to have to keep up. I've tried to keep up with my points to specific posters, and yet I draw in other comments by those reading something nefarious or wrong into what I'm attempting to say.

-- I've been accused of suggesting that being negative makes a good reporter.

-- I've been told to assinate something in my pipe and smoke it.

-- And I've now been accused of being detached from Buffalonians.

 

I realize 18 pages is a lot to get through, and lord knows we'll get to 23 pages within 15 mintues should Lurker latch back on.

 

Now to your point, "cursed:" By reading some of the posts here, I'm starting to see that many of the things Schopp is accused of doing -- being hard-headed, impatient, expressing contempt -- is quite apparent in several people that have contributed to this thread. And, who knows, I might be doing the same here. The thing is, if Mike Schopp was so reviled, how come everyone knows what he's said? And how in the heck did we get this far in this mega-post if people dislike him so much?

 

From my perspective, you folks are disproving your point by attempting to prove it. And with all due apologies to Alanis Morissette's definition, that's ironic.

 

jw

[Kelly the Dog]

I don't know why people complain about radio guys whose job it is is to get people to complain.

 

And for the record, I have complete contempt for, and simultaneous utter love for, all nasty miserable Bills fans everywhere. It's who we are, especially when we lose, which is always. At least for the last decade.

 

The reason this board is so great is not because of the John from Hemets, even though we love the guy for his relentless optimism, it's for fearless leader SDS and Alaska Darin and DC Tom and LABillz and 100 other people's snide and often nasty remarks, caustic, often LOL funny smartassinations.

 

Sure, everyone likes good solid football chalktalk, but there is only so much good solid analysis one can get, especially during the off season. I am only speaking for myself here but the reason this board separates itself from the others of its kind, is the quality of its nastiness and negativism as much as its quality of chalktalk.

[Watching since 1964]

The thing is, if Mike Schopp was so reviled, how come everyone knows what he's said? And how in the heck did we get this far in this mega-post if people dislike him so much?

 

 

jw

 

 

John,

 

Others will probably chime in to yay or nay me, but I only recall reading a few posters in this thread saying they were listening when Schopp said what the OP brought up. So I don't think we are disproving our point.

 

I think a fair amount of people will agree this thread is so large because it is not just a few that dislike Schopp's performances.

 

I also think people would listen again if things changed.

 

By the way John, how often do you listen to the show in question?

 

Skip

[Lurker]

we'll get to 23 pages within 15 mintues should Lurker latch back on.

Sure, what the hell...it's only electrons.

 

Glad to see I have a new groupie, tho'...