Admittedly, I'm a much bigger NBA fan than I am of the NFL. I'm a Packers fan, but rarely watch more than about a quarter each week. Football just has too much stop and start for me, and while the weather's still nice it's hard to lock myself inside on a Sunday. That said, I'll watch basketball anytime. It's my sport. But not the point of this blog.
To my point, now. Even though I'm not watching the Packers as much as I once did, I do my best to never to miss "Tuesdays with Aaron" on ESPN Radio. For me, it's even better than the game.
Why? Of course Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is good, very good. I've never met him, but from every indication, he's open, honest and genuine. These traits all shine through on his game day interviews but they really standout in the longer form, more casual setting that host Jason Wilde and the good people at 540 ESPN have developed for "Tuesdays with Aaron."
Wilde's a pro. Yes, I know him and he used to blog for us, but his credentials and personality speak for themselves. He asks great questions and makes the segment appeal to both hard core NFL fans and casual bandwagon jumpers. This isn't easy to do.
The play-by-play break downs are especially good. Again, even for non football fans. Maybe it's because you seldom hear professionals at Rodgers' level go into such detail, but more likely it's because Rodgers and Wilde both know their crafts very, very well.
ESPN Milwaukee president Craig Karmazin told me that the response to the segment has been overwhelmingly positive as well as global in reach. He gets emails from Packers fans across the world and noted that many soldiers over seas are big fans of the show.
I'm certain more in-depth segments like this are on the way. Fans love them, and the leagues have to like the way they connect players with fans. Personally I'd love to see a similar interview type show with the Bucks and Brewers.
But for now, I'm giving thanks for and highly suggesting you check out the weekly "Tuesdays" podcasts here.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
