The Jim Rome Show

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The Jim Rome Show is a sports radio talk show based in Los Angeles, and hosted by Jim Rome. It airs three hours live each weekday from 9am to 12pm Pacific time. It has been syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, the programming arm of Clear Channel Communications, since 1996, and can be heard on more than 200 affiliate radio stations in the United States and Canada.

The show features interviews, listener calls, and Rome's opinions on issues in sports, entertainment, and off-the-wall news. Its most notable attributes are Rome's extensive use of "smack" (his term for "gloatful, uninhibited and unbridled" sports talk, peppered with personal jargon), its name-calling and sarcastic humor, and the "takes", set-piece diatribes phoned in by the "clones" who listen to the show (the best receiving the accolade "The Huge Call of the Day"). Because of this, it can be difficult for new listeners to enjoy the show quickly, as there is a learning curve before they can fully understand what is being said.

Several people criticize The Jim Rome Show for being too negative, to which Jim responds by saying that once athletes stop doing stupid things, he will stop being so negative and talking about them.

Regular Bits

  • Sarcastic Humor The program features a lot of sarcasm, which some callers have complained about and/or misunderstood. When Rome claimed that a man playing basketball on a Michigan poster was Tony Gwynn, a caller rebuked him, saying "I believe it's Glen Rice." Brian Shaw has also been called "The Pride and Joy of St Mary's" even though a caller said that Shaw actually played at UC Santa Barbara. Rome replied with "I know when I'm wrong...I get paid to do this...and Brian Shaw is the Pride and Joy of St Mary's." Spurs forward Robert Horry is also referred to as Will Smith repeatedly. On one particular day, Rome referred to Anaheim Angels manager Mike Scioscia as "Tony Scioscia," which prompted another unsuspecting caller to attempt to correct him. Rome insisted "no, I know who you mean, it's Tony." Prior to his embrace of NASCAR, Rome would commonly refer to drivers, regardless of their actual first names, as "Ernie" or "Dale," hinting at a stereotype. Such sarcasm makes the show difficult to follow at times, especially for new listeners. On one occasion, Rome summed things up (sarcastically of course), when one caller's take seemed to be more of a lame comedy routine. After running the call, Rome said flatly, "Clones, you...you are not funny. I...I on the other hand...I am quite amusing." While any unsuspecting listeners would take that as a Rome's being disgustingly conceited. Rome's fans consider it merely a clever way to ridicule the caller's completely unfunny bit.
  • Jungle Karma - On many occasions, Rome will interview players of various sports, and claims that their appearance on the show will improve their performance for an upcoming game. In addition, if a player cancels or skips their interview, or changes the format (such as using a tape delay), Rome claims "bad karma" will prevail, diminishing their competitive ability for the upcoming game. However unscientific it may be, anecdotal evidence seems to suggest the trend may be true. The most glaring counterexample of the theory was displayed when Rome interviewed Hornets player Bobby Phills on January 9, 2000. Phills died while street racing three days later.
  • The Year in Review - In late December, Rome reserves a few days for a special program called the Year in Review. This was originally a one-day affair; however, Rome has extended this to three days in 2005. Going month by month, he recounts the year that was in sports: the good, the bad, and the ugly. He also mixes in the best that was in off-beat news. Rome schedules no guests; he also takes far fewer phone calls, prefering e-mail responses.
  • Celebrity Drunk Bus - Any time a professional athlete, actor or politician is arrested for DUI or DWI, Rome offers to send the "Celebrity Drunk Bus," which will pick up the inebriated star and courier him home. Rome says the phone number for the drunk bus is "1-800-BWAAAAAAAAAA!" In addition, Rome says that, when arrested, celebrities and sports figures should never try to get out of it by audaciously asking the officer "Do you know who I am?"
  • The XR4Ti Crew - Rome's "posse" of phone screener Jason Stewart and e-mail screener Travis Rodgers; the "XR4TI" comes from the brand name of Rome's first car, a Merkur XR4Ti. The XR4Ti Crew first came about after lampooning a soundbite from Allen Iverson's mother, on which two other women can be heard behind her repeating everything she says.
  • "War" - Years ago, Rome became very intrigued by the way fans of Auburn chanted the slogan "War Eagle" to support their team. It has since become customary for Rome and his callers to recite the phrase "war-" followed by their favorite team, player, or other activity, to show their fondness of it.
  • Tongues - Many college football teams reward players for exceptional plays by affixing decals to their helmets. Well-known examples include Ohio State, whose players have buckeye stickers, and Florida State, who rewards players with tomahawk stickers. Rome decided that when he has an exceptional segment of his broadcast, he affixes a tongue sticker to his microphone.
  • "Freaking" - On occasion, when Rome concludes an interview with a guest who demonstrated tremendous character, or told an amazing story of something they did, he will proclaim they have earned the middle-name title "Freaking." The first such guest was Evel Knievel, who conducted an unforgettable interview, such that Rome from that point on, referred to him as "Evel Freaking Knievel." Others who have been given that name include NASCAR driver Richard Petty, who told Rome a story about how he drove in the 1980 Talladega 500 with a broken neck. Rome's response after the interview was "Richard Freaking Petty."
  • Soccer - Rome has no use for soccer and ridicules the sport on the show. Rome also talks about how his eldest son Jake has developed into an above-average youth soccer player, apparently against his father's wishes. In 2004, ex-soccer star, Soccer Hall of Famer, and TV analyst Eric Wynalda called in to the radio show to chastise Rome for the anti-soccer tirades. Afterwards, Rome said that Wynalda was the only soccer person allowed to call the show. Rome calls the MLS Cup the "Capri Sun Cup," suggesting the winning team celebrates by drinking the fruit beverage, just as a youth soccer team would. Here is a Jim Rome Soccer Rant and a Jim Rome Soccer Parody.
  • Wrestling - Rome has no use for pro wrestling, often remarking that pro wrestlers often wear masks (such as Rey Mysterio Jr.), sit under a sun lamp to get a nice orange tan (a veiled reference to Hulk Hogan), and outfits consisting of blue tights. He has a particular disdain for WWE owner Vince McMahon, who kept a PPV broadcast running even after one of his wrestlers, Owen Hart, died in a freak accident during the event (and for later justifying his decision on The Last Word). As for collegiate or amateur wrestling, Rome also has little use for that sport, often commenting that amateur wrestlers wear water polo helmets and unitards (actually singlets), and that they practice their "special holds" on each other - especially on dirty, unsanitary wrestling mats.
  • Border Wars - Often when leading up to a significant event (such as the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, etc.), fans of the teams will phone the show and degrade the opposing team's city. This usually degenerates into a back-and-forth war between inhabitants of the two cities where nearly every call Rome receives is from someone looking to weigh in on the war. One notable border war that flares up occasionally is United States vs. Canada (or "America Junior", as Canada has been termed on the show). It is also quite common for callers in one city to provoke another for virtually no reason other than its existence. One example is a 2005 border war between Huntsville and Knoxville that erupted for no particular reason and lasted around a week.
  • Star Wars - One could actually imagine Rome's thoughts upon hearing of the title for the 2002 Star Wars movie Attack of the Clones. But it was a 2004 call from a clone comparing LPGA golfer Annika Sörenstam with Anakin Skywalker that prompted Rome's response from the clone's effort to make such a comparison - "If you are over the age of twelve and you still care about Star Wars, you...are...a...loser." Rome would continue to make his attacks on Star Wars fans by commenting on the numbers of attendees at a Star Wars convention in Indianapolis being larger than those appearing at a Tour Stop in Detroit on the same weekend. Against Rome's attempts to keep his son Jake away from Star Wars influences, Jake has discovered Star Wars, especially Darth Vader, whom he describes as "cool."
  • Dungeons & Dragons - Much like his antipathy for Star Wars, Rome has nothing kind to say about people, especially adults, who play Dungeons & Dragons, pointing out that most are usually not savvy with women, that many live in their parents' basement, and all seem to have a unusual fascination with a twenty-sided die. In addition, he firmly believes that professional board game players, who play such games as Monopoly and Risk, are equally pathetic.
  • Women in professional sports - Even though he is a great admirer of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, and of race car driver Danica Patrick, Rome has no love lost over the WNBA, women's soccer, nor women in any professional sport. Rome constantly compares WNBA players to horses, and has frequently asked NBA Commissioner David Stern when the WNBA will be disbanded, only to be rebuffed. Rome has a lackadaisical attitude toward the success of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team in the World Cup, ignoring the individual efforts of the team members. Rome calls all professional soccer players "Mia Chastadonahamm," after famous players Mia Hamm, Landon Donovan, and Brandi Chastain.
  • Bowling - Rome's official statement about the sport of bowling is that it can't be considered a sport if you improve your scores as you continue to drink alcohol. He also points out that bowlers often have special wrist grips, have a cigarette hanging out of their mouths, and eat greasy food at the bowling center's annexed bar and grill.
  • "Softball Guy" - Similar to his feelings about bowling, Rome also finds jest in men's softball leagues. Along with pointing out the propensity for them to consume inordinate amounts of alcohol, Rome feels that "Softball Guy" takes the recreational game much too seriously, puts ridiculously sophomoric nicknames on the back of his jersey (such as "The Rammer"), and should refrain from addressing the umpire as "Blue."
  • Gambling - A frequent reference is made to the stereotypical "Likes to Bet Guy." Rome will often ponder why obscure and unequivocally minor sporting events are designated with gambling odds by casinos, only to decide it is likely for the purposes of satisfying the needs of gambling addicts. In addition, Rome explains how "Likes to Bet Guy" cares more about if his favorite team covers than if they win, and refers not to their overall record, but their "ATS" (against the spread) record.
  • Reality TV - Rome has very little use for reality TV shows, often making fun of programs like Man Versus Beast, Celebrity Boxing and The Surreal Life. He has commented, "I hate reality TV, and if you like reality TV, you're not smart." He has tried to avoid talking about American Idol (which he sometimes refers to as "American Karaoke"), but after that show's second season Rome complimented New York Mets first baseman Mo Vaughn on his singing victory (this was a remark on Vaughn's weight, which had ballooned to the size of American Idol winner Ruben Studdard). Rome has been more supportive, however, when his call-screener Jason Stewart (aka J-Stew) appeared on the reality TV series Blind Date.
  • Boy Bands - Pointing out that while they're aimed at teenage girls, "boy bands" almost always are comprised of grown adults. Rome takes the liberty of adjusting their names, referring to the Backstreet Boys as the "Backstreet Men," the band *NSYNC as "*N-Men," and the band O-Town as "O-Men." Rome calls the members of these groups "man banders." He also has called Nick Lachey "Nick Simpson" after Lachey said to the press that he supported ex-University of Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins.
  • Homosexuals in professional sports - Rome is open toward homosexuals in professional sports, mainly those who have the courage to "come out." Rome's opinion is open and encouraging, but suggests that the day an active professional athlete would "come out" is still far away, as he judges the attitudes of those in the game toward homosexuality as being close-minded. Rome even said that he would be supportive of his son Jake (now a child) coming out as an adult if he was homosexual.
  • Commercials for Viagra and Cialis - Pointing out that the commercials for the two men's medications are obscenely suggestive, Rome can't help but make fun of how they are allowed to be broadcast, and how Pfizer is the sponsor of MLB's "Comeback Player of the Year." The action of throwing a football through a tire draws plenty of e-mails too, comparing it to slide whistles, bottle rockets, a train going into a tunnel, and springs.
  • Ice Cream Men - Rome is very wary of ice cream men, who he believes are sexual predators who use ice cream to get at children. This was only strengthened after a 2005 incident in Wisconsin in which an ice cream man was arrested on a DUI charge, and was later found out as a registered sex offender. After a second high-profile incident, Rome explained it has become an "ice cream epidemic." In September 2005, a Detroit ice cream man was arrested for allegedly showing naked pictures of himself on a camera phone to girls and asking them to kiss each other while he took their picture.
  • The Smartest People in the Jungle - Rome has bestowed this honor upon those whom he considers the top five smartest people he's interviewed on the show. Honorees include: Al Michaels, Bob Costas, David Halberstam, Jim Lampley, John Feinstein. Alternates include Joe Buck and George Will. Caller Jeff in Richmond received an honorable mention after stating that he was "born and bred for success and achievement."
  • 0-16 "Dream Season" - Since going to a sixteen-game schedule in 1978, no NFL team has ever finished the season winless. Rome's facination stems from the sheer difficulty of the feat and the level of apathy required to pull off such a pathetic result. Teams such as the Chargers, Bengals, and Texans have been on Rome's radar, only to "fall short" of the true desire to completely give up and lose every game. Rome's motto for these teams is "when the going gets tough, quit." Rome has promised that whenever an NFL team finally manages to go 0-16, the city will be awarded a Tour Stop.
  • Merkurs - On occasion, Rome will recall the story of the worst car he ever owned, a Merkur XR4Ti. Although he admits the car was trendy and sporty when first bought, he firmly believes there was about a two-year threshold before the car completely exposed itself as a lemon. The dashboard warning lights lit up so often, Rome referred to it as a "Christmas Tree," and when trying to take the car in for repairs, few mechanics had ever heard of Merkurs. Rome loves to wrap up the story by recounting the day he traded in the ill-fated car. After barely making it to the dealership, moments after the paperwork was transferred, the mechanic went to take the car away, and it broke down for good. Merkurs are often referenced by e-mailers, especially former owners.
  • The Big Ten - Although he has no issues with any of the teams in the Big Ten, Rome pokes fun at the conference for their name, considering it is actually comprised of eleven teams. Jim always refers to them as the "Big Eleven."
  • The NIT - Rome has nothing good to say about the "other" college basketball postseason tournament. Rome claims the only thing the winner can say is "We're number 66!"
  • Manny Ramirez - Rome always loves reporting on Manny Ramirez (whom he calls "Man Ram"), whether it be Man Ram's cutting off throws from centerfield, wearing an mp3 player in his sunglasses out to the field, taking the field in roller skates, or getting lost in the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Rome often tells Manny to "have a safe trip on the way home from 'Planet Man Ram.'"
  • Little League Baseball - Nothing from his childhood seems to have stuck in Rome's mind more than a disapointing gift he received playing little league baseball. At the end of the season, Rome and his teammates were given gifts by the coaches. Instead of a toy they could play with (which is what the children wanted), the coaches gave them multi-colored, mini-screwdriver sets. While it was probably a gesture to give the boys a "man's gift," it ended up being a dull present none of the boys cared for.
  • "Keeping Things Positive" - In 2003, show producers contacted the Jets public relations department to schedule an interview with running back Curtis Martin. However, team officials informed them that Martin would not be able to appear on the show because he only does "positive interviews" (implying Rome embodys negativity). Since then, Rome makes sure he "only speaks positive" about the Jets, Martin, or coach Herman Edwards. On December 8, 2005, in response to a caller who stated that his boss thought that Rome was overly negative, Rome decided the whole show was going to be "positive" and began calling the show "The Garden." Rome's typical break music was replaced by soothing, soft music, and Rome ran off any callers with who stated "negative" opinions, such as the utterance of the words "smack" and "crack-back." Typically, this resulted in Rome cutting off virtually every caller. Rome spent a great deal of this segment praising Terrell Owens and Barry Bonds as "team players." At the end of the show, Rome proclaimed the boring nature of "The Garden" as the reason he stays consistently negative towards athletes who act foolisly.

The Clones

The "Clones" are what Rome calls the listeners of the show. Their devotion to Rome along with their use of "smack" makes them different from normal people, but all the same as each other. Unfortunately, callers often only reiterate Rome's exact take on an issue. During the day, Rome saves the recordings of the best calls in the rack (with the term "Rack him" or "Rack her" after a call, as a signal to the audience that he enjoyed the caller's take). At the end of the show, The Huge Call of the Day (the best call in Rome's opinion) is replayed with much fanfare. Sometimes a Huge Call from a previous show will be replayed if no callers' takes get racked.

Rome is notorious for hanging up on callers who perform poorly in the middle of their takes. If a call is cut off, it will be "run" with a loud buzzer and immediately ceased. Usually the caller will be subject to ridicule from Rome and the Clones. Callers are often run when they are unenthusiastic, incoherent, believed to be reading their takes, or after saying something incredibly offensive. It should be noted that Rome does not run the calls himself, but leaves the task to the show engineer, Alvin. Occasionally, Alvin will run a call when Rome doesn't think it was deserved, or when Rome doesn't think it was too offensive. Rome lets the run-off caller know that it was Alvin who did it.

It is not uncommon for callers to be on hold for long periods of time, upwards of two hours, before they make it on air. While the callers are expected to be patient and prepared when their turn comes up (sometimes unexpectedly), Rome has no patience if they are not. Due to a seven-second delay, the callers must listen to the show through their phone with their radio turned off. Otherwise, when Rome puts them on-air, they will miss their cue, and be subject to ridicule. Rome often comments on how if he can hear his voice through the phone (due to the delay), the caller is probably not paying attention. In addition, if callers complain about how long they have been on hold, Rome normally hangs up on them, and ridicules them for wasting all that time.

Although the enforcement in recent times has been lenient, Rome has a rule against callers stating their names after Rome has already mentioned them. Whenever Rome goes to callers, he announces their names and where they are from. If callers start their calls by repeating that very information (their names and where they are from), Rome will immediately run the calls and ridicule the callers for telling him something he and the listeners already know.

Rome also has an unofficial ban against callers singing (whether actual songs or poorly written parodies), with only a couple designated exceptions. Usually callers who attempt to sing have no business doing so. One exception to this rule (with disastrous results) came after Smack-Off 2005, when callers made poor attempts to complete Terrence in Sierra Madre's song, Hey, Mister J-Stew. Also, see the reference to Willie in KC below.

Basically, Rome has one simple rule for clones calling in or e-mailing the show: "Have a take, don't suck." This rule is repeated at the beginning of every show.

Infamous Callers

Rome appreciates good calls on his show, but often he will receive a call that is less than acceptable. The really terrible calls will live on in their own infamy, and listeners will reference those calls for years to come. Some of these calls include:

  • Jeff in C-Bus - Early in the show on November 18, 2005, on his way to the Michigan vs. Ohio State football game, Jeff (a former Smack-Off contestant) envisioned that Ohio State would easily win the contest, but predicted a final score of 27-27. This was believed to be a slip of the tongue, but Jeff (and Ohio State) became the butt of numerous jokes throughout the rest of that day's show. The Buckeyes got the last laugh, however, as they defeated Michigan 25-21. The following Monday, Jeff called back and claimed that he purposely made the strange call to draw attention from the game itself, intending to make the Clones smack him instead of Ohio State. Despite this, Jeff is still the butt of numerous jokes by the Clones.
  • Patty in Modesto - Apparently tried to call the show, but was too inebriated to have an intelligent conversation.
  • Alex in Louisville - Called in to congratulate Rome on the great interview with NFL player Deion Branch not knowing that the interview had not yet taken place.
  • Willie in K.C. - A regular caller who often broke into song parodies during his calls; was permanently banned from the show after one of his calls contained obvious and crude anti-Semitic references. As soon as he was cut off, the tone in Rome's voice was obviously angry, which continued through the segment, even after a rebound call from (clone legend) Silk in Huntington Beach. Silk, who has unfairly been called a racist as a running gag on the show, started his call this day pleading that it was Willie, not himself, that made the references. Willie's call became the topic of the show, with other clones (including legends) like Jeff in Phoenix and (e-mail legend) Dark Gable denouncing him. Some time later Willie attempted to be reinstated to "The Jungle" by calling the show in 2004 to apologize for making the offensive remarks. As soon as he completed his short apology (which was considered contrived by many listening that day) he attempted to stage one of his calls, at which time Rome cut him off. Rome allowed the remainder of the day's callers and e-mailers to vote on the matter, and the decision was made to uphold the ban.
  • Bill in Syracuse - After Rome made a sarcastic remark about how he would LOVE to have his child enter the porn industry, Bill in Syracuse called to chastise Rome, believing him to be serious.
  • Fabian - Often referred to as "Flamian" because he promised to have an epic phone call - only to almost immediately "flame out" in spectacular fashion (specifically, he was unable to make it through his first on-air sentence without stumbling over his words and asking for a do-over).
  • Jim in Fall River - During one of his calls, Jim in Fall River became extremely animated and agitated, to the point of actually shouting out his call. In the background, Rome heard what he thought was the sound of an animal, possibly a donkey braying. Despite Rome's effort to get Jim in Fall River's attention, the caller continued to shout his take and the animal sound persisted. Since then, Jim in Fall River has been associated with bestiality.
  • "Smack Attack" in Wisconsin - This caller was on hold for over an hour and when his turn finally came up to speak with Rome, he yelled into the phone, "AAAHHHHH...my phone bill!" then hung up. The call was mostly remembered because Rome blames that incident for some of his hearing loss.
  • Iggy in Springfield - He called the program and greeted Rome before starting a prerecorded tape of his take. The sound of a tape player being turned on was clearly audible, as well as the significant difference in sound quality, monotone voice, and another greeting. Rome quickly called Iggy's bluff by asking him a question, which of course Rome knew would not be answered by a recording. In (dis)honor of Iggy, callers occasionally announce the local time before starting their take to prove it is not prerecorded.
  • Pancho and Tyrone - During one call-in session, Rome took a call from a caller who claimed his name was Pancho, and that he was an African American. Rome doubted this, but let the caller go through. A few minutes later, another caller got through the call screener, saying, in a stereotypical Spanish accent, "Jim, eff he can be Pancho, why can't I be Tyrone?" This is often cited as an example of a caller fooling the phone screener.
  • Will - After a monotonous laundry list of insipidly obvious observations, Rome ran this caller simply for his inability to come up with a single original thought. Subsequent callers who show little or no originality are frequently run, and subject to ridicule and comparison to Will.
  • Jockey Stewart Elliott - Rome interviewed Elliott by phone, following his unsuccessful bid to ride Smarty Jones to a win at the 2004 Belmont and thus the Triple Crown. The anticipated interview turned unforgetably dull when Rome fielded a question regarding the horse's attitude of being a champion. Rome expected it to be a segue for Elliott to elaborate, but instead, he simply answered, "that's right" and dead air followed. Jokes by listeners since then suggest it would have been more interesting to have interviewed the horse.
  • Golfer Steve Elkington - One of Jim's favorite callers, who drops in often and shares stories from his experiences on the PGA Tour, including tales about fellow golfer Colin Montgomerie's "sweaty undies," about him and his friends getting "loaded up on froth and bubbles," , saying that he "sees cat, mate" , or simply stating he "likes to drink and fight." When Rome played a portion of John Daly's country album, Elkington remarked "you must be pulling my sausage, mate." Other resets are from when he killed a deer from a friend's living room, and his encounter with a profanity-spewing Tommy Smothers.
  • Jeff in Richmond - A frequent caller and winner of the 2002 Smack-Off, Jeff has been ridiculed by many other listerners for his deep southern accent, staunchly conservative political views, his tendency to yell into the phone, his embrace of NASCAR before it was mainstream, and putative status as a stereotypical redneck. Jeff has claimed to be "born and bred for success" to have an "Armani suit," "a luxury sled," and a "countryside estate," in the "Commonwealth of Virginia." He also seems to have a fixation on his "good friend and colleague" Bob Costas, after Costas mentioned him by name during an interview. Also, "left-fringe" (liberal) clones such as Trapper in Dana Point are a frequent target for his abuse. Unbothered by his many critics, Jeff continues to call the program, beginning his call with a "Thanks for the vine, thanks for the time," and ending his calls with a loud "GOOD NIGHT NOW!!!"
  • Rachel in Houston - One of few regular female callers, Rachel is either revered or despised by the Clones.
  • Joey in New Bedford - On October 27, 2005 he came into the Jungle with a new word, "recepted". It is believed that it is a hybrid of accepted and received. Rome interupted the call after 5 minutes of Joey's rants and said he finally "came to" after hearing Joey's language. Although Jim insisted that "recepted" is not an actual word, some have speculated that it may be either some form of Cape Verdean slang or simply a New England or "Chowd" affectation. During Rome's recap, he glossed Joey as a legend and hall of famer. Joey is also an administrator at Stucknut.com where he has his own bowling forum.
  • Tim in Bend - In December 2004 he stopped the show with two epic cracks in a brief call to Jim. His sarcastic thank you to Jim for an interview he did not have on the show, and subsequent Drew Brees Mole Blast were enough to send Jim on a 6 minute rant.
  • Rich in Indy - In September 2005 he made the best "short call" to the jungle when he referred to a Dallas Cowboys meltdown "as predictable as a scripted Joey in New Bedford or Jay in Providence phone call." He was subsequently racked. It is rumored that Rich may be a hack on the 4th floor at Premiere or J-Stew himself.
  • Guy Who Had to Eat Lunch with His Wife - During the summer of 2005, a caller told call screener Jason Stewart that he had to get on the show because he had to eat lunch with his wife. Jim led into the call saying that if a clone needed to eat lunch with his wife, that Jim would have his back. Before the caller could even begin his call, Jim ran the caller, saying "with that kind of lead in, why would you even stay on the line? You might as well hang up and bail out and avoid ridicule."

E-Mails

Rome reads as many e-mails as he can on the show; however, many e-mailers pretend to be famous athletes or public figures, responding with a comment that reflects one of that person's most embarrassing public moments. Such e-mail references often include:

  • Steve Francis: As the Orlando Magic were struggling, Francis called them "the worst team since sliced bread" which induced a number of "[worst object] since sliced bread" e-mails.
  • Dexter Manley: References to literacy. Based on Manley's claim that he was able to graduate college while being functionally illiterate.
  • Al Martin References to playing in the Rose Bowl - Martin claimed he played college football and appeared in the Rose Bowl. However, he never played college football during the time when his college appeared in the Rose Bowl. Martin also takes some grief for simultaneously having two wives in different parts of the country.
  • Tim Johnson: References to the Vietnam War. The former Blue Jays manager told his players stories about his experiences in the Vietnam War, despite having never fought in the war.
  • Margot Kidder: References to being incoherent. Kidder at one time suffered from mental illness. On April 23, 1996, Kidder was found incoherent, lying on a woodpile in the back yard of a Glendale home, with her dental plate missing. She was subsequently admitted into a mental hospital.
  • Patrick Ewing: "We make a lot of money, but we spend a lot of money." A famous comment by the former Knicks center during the 1998 NBA lockout, arguing that the players should not make any concessions regarding salary rollbacks.
  • Billy Hunter: "On a scale of one to ten, it's about a 60 or a 65." A comment Hunter made on the show during an interview regarding the separation between the owners and players of the NBA during the drafting of a new labor agreement between the two.
  • The Chick from Rome's Christmas Party & Rome's Sister's Cat are referred to often by e-mailers. The first is because of an encounter Rome had with a woman whose desire was to enter the adult entertainment industry. However, according to Rome, unsuccessful entertainers do not strive to be in porn, they "end up in porn." The second is because of an accident (apparently true) that Rome's sister had with her pet cat. Rome makes an effort to keep the actual identities of the woman and his sister secret, an attempt that keeps the jokes alive.
  • Steve Garvey: References to womanizing. Garvey, the former MLB player, once said in an interview that he enjoys "pumping chicks."
  • Wade Boggs: References to heavy alcohol consumption. In 1996, Boggs, the former MLB player, was involved in a lawsuit where he was charged with becoming intoxicated and verbally abusing a flight attendant, when she refused to serve him "another beer" during the plane's final descent. Boggs was eventually cleared.
  • Darva Conger: References to someone in the media spotlight wanting to be left alone. Conger made a name for herself by appearing in several reality shows, posing in Playboy, and doing everything it seemed that she could to not be out of the spotlight. Listeners always finish their e-mails from her by quoting her now-famous line "I just want my life back."
  • Michael Jackson: Generally referred to as "Wacko Jacko" by e-mailers and by Rome, pop singer Michael Jackson is the victim of constant ridicule on the show.
  • Non-Hunter: Began by e-mailer "Dave in St. Louis." It alludes to, and makes fun of, a report released by PETA that suggested men who are regular hunters have small genitalia.
  • Al Gore: The former V.P. and Presidential candidate is often referenced by e-mailers stemming from his misunderstood and exaggerated claims to have invented the Internet. E-mailers mock Gore by attributing a long list of inventions to him.

Smack-Off

Every spring, Rome holds a "Smack-Off," where the greatest callers from the previous year (often winners of the Huge 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.

History

  • 1995 -- The winner of the inaugural Smack-Off is J.T. the Brick, who parlayed his Smack-Off victory into his own sports talk radio show. Rome invites J.T. (and all other Smack-Off winners) to call during each year's event, but has otherwise cut off all contact with him and resents J.T.'s success. Partly to blame was the fact that J.T. was originally on a competing station in Los Angeles. Currently, they work for the same company (Premiere Radio Networks, owner and licensee of Fox Sports Radio) and are on in different dayparts on the same stations in many media markets, but the animosity continues. J.T. was quoted in Alan Eisenstock's book entitled Sports Talk as saying, "Jim Rome has done everything for me, but Jim Rome has done nothing for me." J.T., in recent years, has not returned the invitation to call the Smack-Off. Jason Stewart (aka J-Stew, now the call screener of Rome's show), then known as "Jason from Fullerton," also got on, with an especially bad take before getting run.
  • 1996 -- Jeffrey E. DiTolla ("Esquire") is the winner of the second Smack-Off.
  • 1997 -- Doc Mike DiTolla wins his first Smack-Off, marking back-to-back victories for the Brothers DiTolla.
  • 1998 -- In one of the more classic Smack-Offs, Steve Carbone wins with his famous "I am not a clone!" call. Many of Steve's detractors like to claim that the fix was in on this Smack-Off, because at the time Carbone was the call screener (known as "Phoneslap") for The Jim Rome Show (having previously been the successful caller "Stevie from LMU"). Carbone went on to host his own sports-talk radio show, before being dismissed for making some very inappropriate comments on a website. This was also the first Smack-Off to feature a professional athlete in the field, quarterback Jim Harbaugh - who unfortunately provided one of the most boring Smack-Off calls ever.
  • 1999 -- Sean the Cablinasian in Houston wins his first Smack-Off.
  • 2000 -- Doc Mike DiTolla becomes the first caller to win two Smack-Offs.
  • 2001 -- One of the original callers to the Jungle, Silk in Huntington Beach (who is portayed by Rome and many callers to be a bum who lives in a cardboard box on the beach), wins the Smack-Off after being the unfair target of criticism from many callers throughout the year.
  • April 19, 2002 -- One of the most polarizing callers, Jeff in Richmond, wins the Smack-Off, to the outrage of many "Clones" and the joy of few.
  • June 21, 2003 -- Sean the Cablinasian (now in Denver) becomes the second caller to win two Smack-Offs. This Smack-Off also featured perhaps the most infamous line in Jungle history:
8-time Smack-Off invitee and noted amputation fancier Greg in Vegas, who finished 2nd to Sean the Cablinasian, ended his call with a tasteless reference to pro golfer Tom Watson's caddy, Bruce Edwards. Greg closed by saying that perhaps Watson could have won the previous U.S. Open had Edwards not "incurred a 1-stroke penalty", referring to the ALS that would kill Edwards a year later.
  • April 16, 2004 -- "Iafrate" Ken Chasen in Los Angeles, who had finished second in four previous Smack-Offs, wins his first, his call capped off by a song, "Whitey's Dad" (a parody of the song "Michael's Dad" by John Niems), in which Iafrate sings about Brian Albers (nicknamed "Whitey") who was Rome's show engineer and board operator.
  • May 6, 2005 -- Sean the Cablinasian becomes the first 3-time winner at Smack-Off 2005. Defending champion "Iafrate" Ken Chasen finishes second for the fifth time. Terrence from Sierra Madre, considered to be the best caller never to have won the Smack-Off, places third.

Theme Music

  • At the top of each hour (officially six minutes after the hour), the show opens with the song Lust for Life by Iggy Pop.
  • At the bottom of each hour, (officially thirty-four minutes after the hour), the show opens with the song Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'N Roses.
  • Up All Night by The Boomtown Rats opens the final segment of the show, when Rome announces the Huge Call of the Day.
  • Other songs used as bump music for commercial breaks include Jungle Boogie by Kool & the Gang, The Breaks by Kurtis Blow, So Whatcha Sayin'? by EPMD, Got the Life by Korn, and Styrofoam by Fugazi.

Soundbites

Often, when celebrities (and sometimes regular people) say or do something embarrassing in front of a microphone, the clip will end up in Rome's archive and subject to ridicule on the air. A clip is usually only played when a take, either from Jim or a caller, makes reference to it. Such clips include:

  • Ron Jeremy - Rome will occasionally play an audio clip where Jeremy can be heard saying "Hi, this is Ron Jeremy, coach of the Miami Heat, and you're watching Jim Rome is Burning." Rome has enjoyed this promo so much that he said on his show that Jeremy (whom he used to dislike) would be exempt from his usual porn insults.
  • Three Day Weekend - On May 6, 2005, Terrence from Sierra Madre called into the Smack-Off with a hilarious Hey Mr. J-Stew song which unfortunately was unfinished. Jim asked other people to call in and finish the song Terrence had written. This led to disastrous results. This continued until a band named Three Day Weekend out of Houston sent in a tape of a song about J-Stew named Mr. Automatic. The song quickly became a hit among clones and is occasionally played as the Huge Call of the Day.
  • John Daly - The champion golfer recorded a country music CD, for which Jim often plays the opening lines of the track You Don't Know Me (Like I Know Me), as an example of why athletes should never record an album.
  • Carl Lewis - In 1993, Lewis attempted to sing The Star-Spangled Banner before a Nets game. Lewis sang the entire song off-key and at a range too high for his voice. Halfway though, he stops and says "Uh oh" and "I'll make up for it now." It is often regarded in the sports world as one of the worst pregame renditions of the American national anthem in history. Rome often replays the latter half of the clip, complete with his own commentary throughout, including his famous buzzer near the end. As a bonus, whenever the subject is forgettable renditions of The Star-Spangled Banner, Rome and e-mailers also reset takes on such incidents as Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith) at the 2001 Indy 500 and Roseanne Barr at a 1990 Padres game.
  • Ozzy Osbourne - In 2004, Ozzy and his wife Sharon were invited by the Cubs to take part in the ceremonial 7th-inning singing of Take Me Out to the Ballgame at Wrigley Field. Ozzy can be heard slurring his speech, forgetting the words, mumbling what he thought were the lyrics, and then cheering at the end of the song.
  • Jeff Gordon - On May 24, 2005, driver Jeff Gordon attempted to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame at a Cubs game. Things started off poorly when Gordon told the crowd it was great to be at "Wrigley Stadium," (rather than Wrigley Field) then started to sing - amidst a chorus of boos and jeers from the Cub faithful. The "Wrigley Stadium" goof hints that Gordon may have been infected with the Curse of the Cubs because his racing performance plummeted after the debacle. Sitting third in points the weekend before, Gordon quickly fell out of the top ten and missed the 2005 NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup.
  • Mike Ditka - In yet another botched rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame at a Cubs game, former Bears coach Mike Ditka is heard screaming the lyrics.
  • Tonya Harding - Rome often plays a 9-1-1 call made on February 22, 2000 by Harding, in which the former figure skater claims to have suffered physical abuse at the hands of her boyfriend, Darren Silver, when in fact Silver was the recipient of a hubcap on the side of his head from Harding. In the background, Silver can be heard shouting, "You're a liar! You're a liar! You are a felon, and I have nothing to hide. So come on over, officers!" After playing the clip, Jim often notes that the 9-1-1 operator is curious about Harding's boyfriend's middle name. After playing the clip for the first time, Rome exclaimed sarcastically, re Harding, "What a delectible flower of femininity." On occasion, Jim will also reset another figure skating-related incident by playing a clip of Nancy Kerrigan screaming "Whyyyyyyyy???" and crying after she was assulted on January 6, 1994. Jim usually mocks Kerrigan's creepy-sounding scream, and attributes the whole incident to a bumbling crew led by none other than Tonya Harding herself.
  • Howard Dean - Rome often replays Dean's imfamous January 19, 2004 rally speech following the 2004 Iowa Democratic caucuses. Dean, in an emotional (but embarrassing) concession speech, screams "and then we're going to Washington, D.C. to take back the White House! AAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Rome will usually mock Dean after playing the clip, and has recently re-edited it with John L. Smith's meltdown before halftime of the 2005 Michigan State-Ohio State game.
  • John L. Smith - On October 15, 2005, the Michigan State head coach had an angry rant at halftime after his coaching staff botched a field goal attempt, which led to an Ohio State touchdown. Rome found that it sounded errily similar to the aforementioned Howard Dean soundbite, and edited them together. During the 2003 Detroit Tour Stop, Smith addressed the crowd, and took a jab at the Michigan fans, since Michigan's coach Lloyd Carr was not present at the tour stop: "How many of you are Michigan fans? Where's your coach?" Each time Michigan has defeated Michigan State, Wolverines fans will reply with: "Where's our coach? Winning the game!"
  • Bill Parcells - The Cowboys coach made a forgetful comment to members of the media during a mini-camp press conference on June 7, 2004. Speaking of "Jap plays" (i.e. sneak attacks) Parcells said "Mike (Zimmer) wants the defense to do well, and Sean (Payton), he's going to have a few...no disrespect for the Orientals, but what we call Jap plays. O.K. Surprise things. No disrespect to anyone." Rome will often follow this by saying that whenever you hear the phrase 'no disrespect to...,' someone is about to get disrespected.
  • Pete Gillen - The former Virginia men's basketball coach, when asked about the Duke basketball team, responded in his thick New England accent, "Certainly, Dook is Dook -- they're on TV more than Leave It to Beavuh reruns."
  • O. J. Simpson - Rome has plenty of interview tapes and 9-1-1 calls from the former Bills running back. One 9-1-1 call involves Simpson's attempts to get his then-girlfriend to go into rehab, because "she spent all last night doing drugs with Pedro Guerrero." Rome, a southern California native, has made "Orenthal" J. Simpson fodder a staple on his show.
  • Ashlee Simpson - When the singer warbled her then-hit song La La at the 2005 Orange Bowl halftime show, Rome kept a copy of Simpson's last few notes - "You make me want to, ah, ah, ah, screeeeeeeeam!" - including the boos and jeers clearly audible throughout the stadium after Simpson's song was over.
  • Evel Knievel - During a May 2002 interview with the motorcycle daredevil, Knievel recounted the story of his ill-fated 1974 attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. Knievel, in his trademark tough guy style, went on to publicly lambast NASA engineer Robert Truax, who had designed the failed "Skycycle" rocket, calling him "an egotistical little know-it-all bastard," and even blamed him for the death of Gus Grissom. Rome asked Knievel if there was only a 50/50 chance of surviving the jump, why he would attempt to do it. Knievel answered, without hesitation, "Do you know who the hell I am?" Rome has marked this occasion as the only time he has ever been speechless in his life. It was also during this interview that Knievel stated that "all women are prostitutes in their own way." During another interview in 2003, Knievel shared with Jim that he owned a diamond encrusted cane that doubles as a flask for Wild Turkey.
  • Isiah Thomas - During a radio interview, Rome and NBA player Chucky Brown had a discussion about the differences in per diem between the NBA and the minor league CBA, where NBA players can afford to eat at Red Lobster. Later, when Rome interviewed Thomas on Rome's show The Last Word, Thomas, who from 1999 to 2001 owned the CBA, started the interview with, "I just got back from Red Lobster."
  • Tiger Woods - In 2004, Rome debuted a Tiger Woods interview clip (called "Robot Tiger") in which Woods is heard to utter the phrase "The golf course looks good, my golf swing feels good, I like my chances." In reality, the clip was edited from several Woods interviews, and Rome uses it as an example of Woods' aloofness to the media, suggesting the golfer might use that "response" for any question ever asked of him. In Woods' defense, Rome also plays an infamous Fuzzy Zoeller clip in which the veteran golfer is asked about Woods' first Masters victory. He responds that he hopes Woods won't serve fried chicken or collard greens at the Masters banquet. In 2005, a new Tiger clip came into circulation where after winning the British Open he made a comment about an alter ego named Ranger Rick in an attempt to be funny, which nobody got and found unfunny.
  • Peyton Manning - When the Colts were eliminated from the playoffs after the 2002 season, kicker Mike Vanderjagt gave an interview on Canadian television where he said that he tried to motivate a dejected Manning during the game. After hearing about Vanderjagt's interview, Manning, who usually is calm and chooses his words carefully, let out a scathing rant during the live telecast of the Pro Bowl, calling Vanderjagt an "idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off." Rome often comments about how many times Manning says "idiot" in the exchange.
  • Woman with the crazy kids and the 9-1-1 operator - In 2005, a woman whose children are out of control calls 9-1-1. After the woman explains the situation, the operator responds, "Do you want us to come over there and shoot her?" [silence] That was a joke...", which is followed by the woman angrily berating the operator and his apologies. While not celebrities, the woman and the operator made news, and Rome sometimes plays the clip just to ridicule both of them. Rome also notes that had the woman displayed the same attitude towards her kids that she did with the 9-1-1 operator, then there would have been no need to make the call in the first place.
  • Allen Iverson - In an interview after the 76ers were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round in the 2001-02 season and it was revealed that Iverson was known to miss mandatory training sessions, he responded with one of the most infamous examples of the disconnection between athletes and reality. "I mean listen, we talkin' 'bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game. We talkin' 'bout practice. Not a game, not a, not a, not the game that I go out there and die for, and play every game like it's my last. Not the game. We talkin' 'bout practice, man. I mean how silly is that? We talkin' bout practice. I know I'm supposed to be there, I know I'm supposed to lead by example. I know that, and I'm not shovin' it aside, you know, like it don't mean anything. I know it's important, I do. I honestly do. But we talkin' 'bout practice, man. What are we talkin' 'bout? Practice?"
  • The Old Guy from "The Roger Penske Organization" - Before Jim embraced NASCAR, he would regularly make fun of its drivers, referring to them by his trademark name-calling (Jim has since apologized, admitted fault, and has 'come correct' with NASCAR). An angry elderly NASCAR fan once made a very disorganized call to Jim's voicemail in the mid-1990s, claiming to be an employee of "The Roger Penske Organization" (the company is actually called Penske Racing). The man threatened to lead a NASCAR boycott against Jim's show, claiming he was collecting "thousands of signatures" (supposedly from angry fans) because of Rome's "lying and talking about NASCAR, and calling the NASCAR drivers different names that are...uhh...not the names of the drivers." The man's plan backfired as Jim played the message on the air and subjected him to ridicule. At the end of the call, the man threatened to take the fight "all the way," a vague statement which Rome has never understood. The man left no contact information and was never heard from again. Rome assumes the old man has died in the time since the voicemail was left.
  • John In C-Town - Jim refers to this as "maybe the funniest thing I have heard on this show." A caller from Cleveland known as John in C-Town often pushed for a Tour Stop in Cleveland. He often talked about Cleveland's "monkey" (program director of the local affiliate), and how he was "banging the monkey" (pushing the affiliate to get something from Jim). He often received criticism from the Clones because all he talked about was the "monkey." Finally, Jim received a tape, which contained clips of John saying "monkey/lunch with the monkey/I have brought the Tour Stop to C-Town" repeatedly.
  • Jim Mora - then-head coach of the Colts. On November 25, 2001, after a devastating loss to the 49ers, Mora engaged in a long rant berating his team for its poor performance, which included five turnovers. The clip includes such quotes as: "That was a disgraceful performance. We threw that game away. We gave them the game. It was pitiful, absolutely pitiful" and "Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs. Are you kidding me? Playoffs? I'm just hoping we can win a game, another game."
  • Mike Tyson - A few vicious remarks by the boxer include "I wanna eat his children" (speaking of Lennox Lewis, who had no children), "You're a scared coward," and "Look at you scared now...Scared of the real man." Tyson is also ridiculed for a statement he made saying that people would pay money to see him masturbate.
  • Jason Stewart - Show contributor for Rome, also known as J-Stew, had a small part in the USA Network TV movie Murder at the Presidio. Rome makes his quote "Heh heh, you always say that" popular. Rome also plays soundbites of his lines from the movie.
  • Mel Gibson - Gibson's line "Gimme back my son!!!" from the 1996 movie Ransom is played ad nauseam when Rome sees fit.
  • Author John Feinstein - During a telephone interview, Feinstein's toddler-age daughter Bridget is heard in the background playing a set of drums so loud that John, on live radio, breaks mid-sentence, and turns around to angrily yell "Bridget! Bridget!" in an effort to quiet her down. John attempts to continue his train of thought, but forever will be teased for that incident.
  • Joe Namath - During a 2003 NFL game between the Jets and Patriots, Namath conducted an interview on live television with ESPN's sideline reporter Suzy Kolber, in which he was noticeably drunk. Asked by Kolber about the team's struggles, Namath leaned towards her and said, in a slurred speech, "I want to kiss you."
  • Danica Patrick - During a 2005 IRL event at Infineon Raceway, after the popular race car driver was taken out of the race in an accident, she told her crew on the two-way radio (which was picked up on the live TV broadcast) that the other driver (Ryan Briscoe) was a "stupid idiot." While Rome has commented on how redundant the phrase "stupid idiot" is (and of course, playing Patrick's soundbite repeatedly, with the added effect of "vrrroooom" noises in the background), he repeats the phrase himself. He does, however, admire Patrick for her moxie and calling it "as she sees it."
  • Ryan Leaf - In his rookie season, former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf refused to talk with the media after some rough outings early on. He screamed at one reporter "Don't talk to me, all right? Knock it off!" and it was captured on film and shown countless times on TV.
  • Mark Madsen - During a rally celebrating the Lakers 2000 NBA Championship, Madsen took to the microphone, and started yelling to the crowd, "Thank you for the greatest fans in the world!!! Who let the dogs out...whoot...whoot...whoot...and to those who speak Spanish..." which at that point he was yelling so loud, it was not audible. Jim mocks it afterwards.
  • Rafael Palmeiro - On March 17, 2005, Palmeiro testified before a Congressional hearing regarding steroid use among MLB players. He emphatically denied using steroids, saying "I have never used steroids, period." However, on August 1, 2005, he received a 10-day suspension after testing positive for steroids. If Palmeiro makes sports headlines, Jim never misses a chance to play his sound bite from the hearing, ruthlessly criticizing him as a hypocrite. Rome and his clones will sometimes refer to Palmeiro as "Ratfael Palmeiroid", in an attempt to further criticize and humiliate him.
  • Sound Drops - After the Huge Call of the Day, typically a quick sound drop is played to mark the conclusion of the show. "That's whack" was ex-Lakers head coach Del Harris attempting to say a line from Shaq's rap album. "Ohhh, unbeebable" was a quote by golfer Jumbo Ozaki, when asked about Tiger Woods. "I think what I'm supposed to say is thank you, I'm out" was taken from a call by an elderly lady who surpassed all expectations, delivering an impressive smack-filled call.

Tour Stops

Rome is also known for his many "Tour Stops." The Tour Stop is a limited access (because of the ticket required) show, often with sports related guests and surprises. Multiple times throughout 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, parks, or other large venues. The tickets are normally free. Clones are known to travel to a Tour Stop from across the country instead of waiting for one in their town. A running joke with the show is that clones in Rochester, New York (one of Jim's original four affiliate cities) have begged for a Tour Stop since the day their station began airing the show; although Rome says that someday "Crapchester" may get a tour stop, he usually teases the city by saying they may have won a tour stop - only to give it to another city.

Guest Hosts

To ensure live content on days when Jim is on vacation, the show is hosted by a rotating stable of guest hosts, including:

  • During Super Bowl week, Rome typically takes the show on the road, and broadcasts live from "Radio Row" on-location at the game's host city. Since there are many celebrities that peruse Radio Row, Rome is able to conduct many impromptu interviews with passer-bys.

References

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