One of the great blessings of being on the air is that Tunch and i get to talk to some fun people. This past monday we had a special broadcast on air for espn 970 from the Firestone country club in Akron, Ohio.
The charity golf tournament was raising money for Sheetz children’s charities. The “A” list of celbs participating was pretty impressive. But the best part of being there (besides the impressive burgers available) was actually talking to the guys and hearing their stories. The stories are what invigorate me about radio work. It’s just plain fun.
Whether its asking former Steelers great Mike Wagner when was the last time he shaved his mustache, or hearing L.C. Greenwood’s story behind the story of his gold hi-top cleats he wore, there is always much laughter besides the usual business talk.
We had Pittsburgh’s own and Miami’s best Dan Marino on as well as Mike and L.C. and naturally i had to rib him on the “Nutri-system” food products he promotes. Of course Dan had to point out that i’d probably consume a month’s worth of product in the first week, so “it might not be for you.”
Legendary hockey great Wayne Gretzky also jumped in and talked about seeing another guest of ours on the air, Joe Theisman as a quarterback with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, playing his first game.
Joe came on to talk about attending a sports dinner in Canada with Wayne when he was a Junior, and also in attendance at that dinner was the great Gordie Howe, who pointed Wayne out to Joe and said, “This kid is going to be the greatest hockey player ever!”
I couldn’t resist asking Joe about his leg fracture at the hands of Lawrence Taylor on Monday Night Football and was suprised when Joe said he had only once viewed the tape of the injury around 7 years ago, and went on to talk about how it had changed his life.
All in all it was a great two hours and more to the point, it’s what radio work is all about. It’s the stories.
