Jim Rome
Jim Rome (b. 1964) is an American sports radio talk show host syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, the programming subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications. Broadcasting from a studio in Los Angeles, CA, he hosts "The Jim Rome Show" weekdays from 9 AM to 12 noon Pacific Time. He also hosts the television show "Jim Rome Is Burning" (formerly "Rome Is Burning") which airs on ESPN. His past hosting jobs included "Talk2" (ESPN2), then "The Last Word" (Fox Sports Net). All these shows deal with the sports world in general.
Rome achieved notoriety for an incident on his ESPN2 show in 1994 when he repeatedly called NFL quarterback Jim Everett "Chris" (after Chris Evert, the tennis player). After a warning, Everett physically attacked Rome while still on the air.
His current radio show takes calls from listeners and features interviews of notable people from the sports world. His television show primarily features interviews with athletes and other people associated with sports, but his main influence both started and remains with sports talk radio.
A graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987, Rome started his radio career at KTMS, located in Santa Barbara, CA. He eventually moved to XTRA Sports 690 in San Diego, CA, where he started what is now known as the Jim Rome Show, or "The Jungle." Syndication started in 1996 and the show now can be heard on over 180 radio stations nationwide.
The Jim Rome Show is unique in many ways, but the most notable are his use of "Smack," the "Clones" that listen to the show, and the Call of the Day. A large portion of the language used on the show is known as "smack," or a harsh, different way of saying the usual sports rant, known as a "take." Because of this, it can be hard for new listeners to enjoy the show quickly, as there is a learning curve before one can fully understand what is being said. The "Clones" are the listeners of the show, that because of their devotion to Jim Rome along with their use of "Smack" makes them all different from normal people, but all the same as each other. Adding to this, often callers only reiterate Rome's exact take on an issue. During the day Rome keeps recordings of the best calls in the rack (with the term "Rack him" after a call being the cue that he enjoyed the callers take). At the end of the show the Huge Call is replayed with much fanfare.
Every year Rome holds a Smack Off, where the greatest callers from the previous year (often winners of the Call of the Day) are brought back for a full day of Smack talk, and the winner of the Smack Off is crowned for an entire year. In one case, the winner (JT the Brick, who won the inaugural Smack Off in 1995) went on to host his own sports radio talk show.
Jim Rome is also known for his many tour stops. Multiple times around the year Rome will reward a syndication city that has been providing him with great takes with a Tour Stop. These events are often held in stadiums or other large venues and the tickets are free. The tour-stop is a limited access (because of the ticket required) show, often with sports related guests and surprises. Clones are known travel to the location of the tour stop from across the country instead of waiting for one in their town.