Travis Thomas Experience Marathon Edition
I've never ran a marathon but I've always enjoyed running both distance and sprints. I've finished a half marathon before and it's on my bucket list to complete a full marathon sooner rather than later. Earlier this week on 105.7 The Fan I completed a full radio marathon and it was one of the greatest achievements of my life. Usually I'm on-air Sunday night's from 9pm-Midnight. But on this past Sunday I went on-air at 5:30 pm after our fine Maryland Basketball coverage and finished my show at Midnight. That's nearly seven hours of one man radio. Although the next morning I felt like my voice had been in a twelve round fight with Mike Tyson, on-air that night I was in a broadcasting zone. When you are talking into a microphone for that long by yourself you cover an endless amount of topics in sports. For those of you who missed it, here are my rants on the top stories in sports. For those of you who listen every week, thank you and you will be proud to know that I've legally changed my name to Mr. Sunday Nights.
Maryland Basketball Road Struggles: In full disclosure the reason I was on nearly seven hours on Sunday was due to the Terps game in the first place. Somebody needed to fill the airwaves after the game, so why not me. Unfortunately I was met with an endless number of angry Terp fan callers on the heels of the 71-55 beat down on the road by Iowa. Terps fans are incredibly frustrated with the road struggles of this young team. My final take was that we must be patient. Most young teams struggle on the road and these Terps are no different. Let's stay patient and hope they figure it out at the right time (pre NCAA Tourney). We have seen teams get hot at the right time and ride that to a National Championship; did anybody watch UConn last season? Shout out to the Lady Terps who are first in the conference and in the top five nationally. Nobody calls my show to talk Women's Sports, but I assure you, I am a fan and would invite anybody who would like to talk it to call in.
The Super Bowl: To be honest, I felt like this was beating a dead horse. I knew all of my peers had talked about the big game all week long, so by the time Sunday night came I figured it was time to move on. But before changing my name to Mr. Sunday Night, I was dubbed the People's Champ. My caller's dictate my show and they wanted to know my take on the Super Bowl. In the week leading up to the game I blogged about the Top Ten Super Bowls Of All Time For Millennials. This game undoubtedly should and will be added to that list. From the back and forth scoring, the Halftime Show, Pete' Carroll's decision making, Tom Brady's masterfulness and Malcolm Butler making the play of his life, this was an All-Timer.
Deflate-Gate: You can't talk Super Bowl without talking Deflate-Gate. My take isn't a popular one amongst the masses. I actually said that I wish the Patriots would just own the fact that they bend the rules. I wish every team would. The reality of the situation is that every single team in the league cheats. Every team in every sport cheats. If you think for a second that these team don't bend the rules to gain an advantage over the opposition than you are not paying attention. I wish teams could own it.
Jerry Rice on Deflate–Gate: In all honesty, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana and Steve Young are the reasons I love football. I grew up in the 80's and the 49ers were everything at that time. So Jerry putting his foot in his mouth really hurt me. I didn't mid his take on the Patriots calling them cheaters and questioning the integrity of that franchise. But to feel that way about somebody and then acknowledge that you wore stickum on your gloves throughout your career is just plain ignorant.
Ravens Draft Preview: I also touched on a subject that I will be touching on for several weeks to come, the upcoming Ravens Draft. I very smoothly referred and sent listeners to the blog I wrote for the best website in the World. The article names five impact players that the Ravens could draft and would have an immediate impact.
Manny vs. Floyd: This is the most frustrating topic to talk about for me. Fight fans have waited forever to see this fight and the fact is we may never get it. I am on a personal crusade to blast the sport I love (Boxing) every week on my show until justice is served. I have another rant prepared for this Sunday 9pm-Midnight on 105.7 The Fan so tune in fight fans!
Dean Smith: The death of Dean Smith was personal to me in the sense that my late Mother was a huge Tar Heel fan. She was the sole reason I loved Basketball at a young age. She told me stories of the great Tar Heel teams that were before my time lead by Dean Smith. As I grew older, I watched Vince Carter, Rasheed Wallace, and countless other Tar Heels under the leadership of Dean Smith to create memories of my own. It was with the passing of Dean Smith that I truly realized what the term "Legacy" really means. This week we also lost another legend in Jerry Tarkanian. My they both Rest In Peace.
NBA Mid-Season Report: I had an NBA expert on named Armon Lee from Comcast SportsNet and he was amazing. We basically broke down the NBA at it's mid-way point of the regular season. I want to show Baltimore some love because I'm always pleased and impressed at how many NBA lovers call my show. I know DC. Has the pro team but there are some many NBA fans in Baltimore and they truly have a home on my show. The response to Armon Lee's segment was so great that I will be bringing him back on a more regular basis.
My Show's Name: When you are On-Air for that period of time you reach listeners that you may normally miss due to a smaller time frame. I had so many first time callers and first timers hearing who I was, it was appropriate to explain my shows name. I call my show the Travis Thomas Experience because I am the biggest Jimi Hendrix fan ever! His band was called the Jimi Hendrix Experience and I always admired not only him, but that name. My show is so much more than just me sitting there talking into a microphone. I like to create an experience for my listeners. My show is based on entertainment, sports, and most importantly my listeners having a voice.
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