GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — If sometime in the last week, you happened to turn on the Big Drew and Jim Show at just the right moment, you might assume all was right in the world.
“With Darius Slay getting traded, that was a hot button issue for us,” said show co-host Jim Costa. “We’re able to talk to Lions fans and get that same visceral, emotional reaction from people.”
It was typical sports talk coming now, at a time when nothing is typical. No NBA, no NHL, no baseball, no anything and and just as you can imagine, that can make pretty challenging for a sports talk radio host.
“The first weekend after things started getting cancelled, I had a bourbon and lemonade or two and I was texting Jim some of the worst ideas I could possibly think of,” jokes co-host Drew McCarthy
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
As they say though, the show must go on and so everyday, just like they’ve done for the last 5 years, the two head to work, but it is not business as usual.
“We’re all in a completely different world right now,” explains Costa. “We’ve all had to adjust on the fly.”
The two hosts agree that both sports and sports radio aren't the most important things in the world right now. However, they take pride in being a welcome distraction during these uncertain times.
“We’re not going to solve any of this,” says Costa. “But we can be there and be helpful for people.”
They’ll do that by chugging along. Taking calls and talking to listeners. Keeping the faith for the return of sports even if it means watching another Tigers loss.
“Can I say, I would love to have a Tigers game to talk about today,” says McCarthy. “I would love to know the name of the guy batting third.”
And when that’s Drew’s biggest problem, clearly everything else would be back to normal.
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