Paul Finebaum. What's with his bama love when he's UT grad?

[05_never_again]

Look at where Paul made his money. He's from Memphis and is a UT grad, but he wound up in Birmingham and made his name by hosting a 365 day a year call in show about the Iron Bowl, and he parlayed that into a national show once the SEC Network was created.

He's been a huge beneficiary of the ascendancy of Alabama, the Alabama/Auburn rivalry, and of the SEC generally, but he made his own luck. Love him or hate him the guy is good at what he does.

 

[Tin Man]

Hmm... Snarky things to say about Paul Finebaum...

He couldn't get a date in college. When he was paired with a coed by a couple who didn't want a stag tagalong, he couldn't get to first base. The closest he ever got to carnal knowledge was to Kavanaugh a drunk high schooler at a party which he was crashing. To assuage his lonely bitterness, he dreamed of being at Alabama, where he imagined being a sportswriter with a following, one which would make him attractive to coeds, networks, and syndicators alike. His personal failures while matriculating at Tennessee are the seeds of his lifelong bitterness and the impetus for his love of Alabama.

 

[Tin Man]

OK, who's next?

 

[GoVols15]

NO I personally don't give a big damn what other people do. I just was pointing out what we have been doing as a society for most of my life. What is the difference in vacs? Both cover long term health problems? C-19 is not going away. It has proven it's ability to change and seems to be part of the landscape from here on out.

Seems like I struck a nerve. lol Yea you get upset when people disagree with you and your opinions. Again, there are numerous reliable sources that give negative views on the COVID vaccine as well as other reliable sources that present the shots in a positive light. Example, of many, Three reasons why the COVID-19 vaccine is not a vaccine At this point nobody really knows the long term impact the COVID shots have on your body, the fact that this vaccine is not FDA approved, the fact that some reliable studies have raised concerns about young people taking the shot to just name a few. One more time, it is perfectly fine if people get the shot and it is also perfectly fine if they do not. I prefer the FREEDOM to choose over your one sided views.

Where you really give yourself away is when you say the COVID is not going away. Really, you can predict the future? Where will the stock market be in eighteen months? lol

 

[Tin Man]

And so it goes... Rather than jump on the Finebaum snark, posters gotta drag out their off-topic vaccine nanner-nanner-boo-boo.

 

[Tin Man]

Sad only.

 

[MWAVolfan]

Hmm... Snarky things to say about Paul Finebaum...

He couldn't get a date in college. When he was paired with a coed by a couple who didn't want a stag tagalong, he couldn't get to first base. The closest he ever got to carnal knowledge was to Kavanaugh a drunk high schooler at a party which he was crashing. To assuage his lonely bitterness, he dreamed of being at Alabama, where he imagined being a sportswriter with a following, one which would make him attractive to coeds, networks, and syndicators alike. His personal failures while matriculating at Tennessee are the seeds of his lifelong bitterness and the impetus for his love of Alabama.

oh lord

 

[MWAVolfan]

Look at where Paul made his money. He's from Memphis and is a UT grad, but he wound up in Birmingham and made his name by hosting a 365 day a year call in show about the Iron Bowl, and he parlayed that into a national show once the SEC Network was created.

He's been a huge beneficiary of the ascendancy of Alabama, the Alabama/Auburn rivalry, and of the SEC generally, but he made his own luck. Love him or hate him the guy is good at what he does.

This.

Had Tennessee been an actual good football team in the last 15 years rather than Bama and Auburn, Paul never would have gotten the national platform he did. But when the two teams in your state win most of the national championships in a decade, that opens up a huge door for you.

I have never understood the "Paul loves Bama" argument. No! Paul loves MONEY! Bama makes him money and UT is f'ing trash. Nobody wants to talk about UT because any time a national sportscaster sticks their neck out to talk positively about Tennessee, Tennessee sh!ts the bed on national TV and implodes.

Stop with your misplaced anger! It's not Paul Finebaum's fault that UT sucks @ss! Sportscasters only talk about INTERESTING THINGS and the only time Tennessee is interesting to talk about is when there is an scandal or embarrassment on the national level.

 

[oheron16]

This. He first gained notoriety in Bama with a radio show that catered to Tide fans. And without his rabble of drunken Bama nitwits his SEC Network show would've been cancelled a long time ago.

very true, he lived and did sports journalism in the Bama area for years and grew to have a man-crush on the Saban /Tide .

 

[Tin Man]

Welp, no "ludicrous speed," here.

 

[Tin Man]

@me when this thread descends into preposterous pap about Paul.

 

[kcvols1]

Am I the only one that gets sick just looking at the guy. His obsession with bama is so obvious and Espn loves him for it. You're a grad of UT for pete's sake! I can't watch Sec network because of this guy anymore Thoughts. Comments. Who agrees?

He’s just another in a long line of famous people generating clicks, viewers, and ad revenue by being adversarial to a particular audience.

It includes:

Rush Limbaugh
Rachel Maddow
Bill Maher
Stephen A. Smith
Clay Travis
Jerry Lawler
Vince McMahon
Donald Trump
Alejandra Ocasio-Cortez
Etc. etc. ad nauseum

Ecclesiastes 1:9 brothers & sisters - Nothing new under the sun.

YAWN.

 

[Tin Man]

Young Paul Finebaum

 

[savannahfan]

Seems like I struck a nerve. lol Yea you get upset when people disagree with you and your opinions. Again, there are numerous reliable sources that give negative views on the COVID vaccine as well as other reliable sources that present the shots in a positive light. Example, of many, Three reasons why the COVID-19 vaccine is not a vaccine At this point nobody really knows the long term impact the COVID shots have on your body, the fact that this vaccine is not FDA approved, the fact that some reliable studies have raised concerns about young people taking the shot to just name a few. One more time, it is perfectly fine if people get the shot and it is also perfectly fine if they do not. I prefer the FREEDOM to choose over your one sided views.

Where you really give yourself away is when you say the COVID is not going away. Really, you can predict the future? Where will the stock market be in eighteen months? lol

To me this is like arguing politics and religion I try to stay away from it, because all are wrong and all are right. But for fear of "giving myself away" let me rephrase,,, TO ME,, C-19 is not going away.

 

[utchs81]

Young Paul Finebaum

Obviously he did not age well.

 

[Matt2496]

Paul Finebaum is the very definition of a shill.

 

[Zues1]

Am I the only one that gets sick just looking at the guy. His obsession with bama is so obvious and Espn loves him for it. You're a grad of UT for pete's sake! I can't watch Sec network because of this guy anymore Thoughts. Comments. Who agrees?

He loves some red meat.

 

[OrangeTsar]

He owes his livelihood to Alabama football. They made him.

This ^^^^. Pawl knows where his bread is buttered….and, more importantly, the jelly that goes on the bread is 100% Bama brand

 

[GoVols15]

To me this is like arguing politics and religion I try to stay away from it, because all are wrong and all are right. But for fear of "giving myself away" let me rephrase,,, TO ME,, C-19 is not going away.

OK that is an opinion. Time will tell if you are correct or not. See that was easy ...

 

[Volaholic320]

Am I the only one that gets sick just looking at the guy. His obsession with bama is so obvious and Espn loves him for it. You're a grad of UT for pete's sake! I can't watch Sec network because of this guy anymore Thoughts. Comments. Who agrees?

Finebaum is the jerry springer of college radio. He doesn't know offense or defense, he just follows hype and trends. He doesnt evaluate talent unless its given to him on paper. His big fans are bamers, so he caters to them. Best thing is not to watch him.

 

[Jack Burton]

Imagine watching the Paul Finebaum show and caring about any of it.

 

[reecetn]

 

[TNnative]

If Paul Finebaum is married, he needs to be this guy:

 

[PNW Huskie]

Finebaum irritates many fan bases. He's more irritating to Tennessee because he's a grad. Many say to ignore or discount him but he's THE conference talk show on the conference network carried by the biggest sports media outlet in the country. The only one the SEC has. Crazy as it seems he's the media face of the SEC. I would of thought his schtick wouldn't last but it has and he's survived all the ESPN downsizing. I suspect he's going nowhere. He gets every major player in the conference on his show. Some watch some don't but he's there to stay and it's obviously important to the decision makers or he wouldn't be on the air.

 

[TNnative]

It's a little more complicated than just saying $$$$$$.

Finebaum started out as a reporter. Not long after graduating from college (yep, UT Knoxville) in '78, he landed a gig writing for the Birmingham paper. Hey, you take the jobs where you find them. At that point he was still bleeding orange...I think. Still at that job, he broke the story on Antonio Langham hiring an agent while a student at Bama...and got the program on probation. Yep, still bleeding orange, heh. That was in '93 or '94.

The dude has a ton of journalism awards, so apparently his writing skills are pretty darn good.

Well, you know how the evolution happens. Hot sports writer gets interviewed on the local sports radio show...then gets a regular weekly call-in with those guys...then gets his own show. At this point, no surprises. Finebaum has a good voice for radio.

But this is, I think, where his blood starts turning from orange to crimson. Because it's much harder not going native when you're interacting in real time with a bunch of folks.

Anyway, he does well with radio, too, and somehow parlays that into TV gigs. Lord knows how he pulls that off, he has a face that could scare ghosts. And by the time he is making the big $$$$ with ESPN, I think he is already converted to the evil empire's side.

So follow the $$$$ isn't quite right. More accurately, follow the influence and pressure of the crowd. If he'd had more strength of character, he probably could've resisted. But...well...he's Finebaum.

Go Vols!

p.s. I believe he spoke the truth when he said he was a big Namath fan as a kid. But I think he only said he was also a Bama fan to endear himself to the bulk of his radio listenership. But who knows.

I was moving in at Tennessee as Finebaum was moving out. So, I was probably not in the same place on campus at the same time as Finebaum. However, I do know a couple of folks from that years orientation group that did meet him.

And one point you are making that they would point out you are wrong about. Finebaum never did "bleed orange". As to the Langham deal, he was just being a reporter trying to break any story before someone else did. That would have had zero to do with bleeding orange.

One last thing: If you think Finebaum has a good voice for radio? You really need to tune out Kesling. Completely. Trust me, that will really improve you opinion of what "good radio" is. All he really is, IMO, is the SEC's cheap version of Howard Cosell. But with a call in show.