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Behind the Mike: The Buckeyes' 'Voice of Reason'

Radio host Bruce Hooley says Ohio State is 'trying to find itself'

Mike Lucas  —  10/02/2008 5:46 am

Take it from an outsider who has covered Big Ten football for more than two decades in Ohio as a Cleveland sportswriter-turned-Columbus broadcaster: Camp Randall Stadium rocks. "The best road atmosphere in the Big Ten, bar none," Bruce Hooley said. "Wisconsin is a team that plays 25 percent better at home than on the road. I don't think Ohio State does that."

That will be put to the test Saturday night in what amounts to a "Collision in the Camp" between the Buckeyes and the Badgers. Call it the sequel to Ohio State's earlier mega-hyped "Collision in the Coliseum" with USC, which didn't work out too well on Sept. 13 for OSU, a 35-3 loser to the Trojans in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The Buckeyes rebounded to beat Troy (Ala.) 28-10 and Minnesota 34-21 heading into the matchup in Madison.

"Everybody wants to know, 'Why?' when they (the Buckeyes) lose, because they lose so infrequently," Hooley said. "Half the people (in Ohio) are mad at the coach and half the people are mad at the players. All you really need to do is play referee when those two factions collide."

As a sports radio talk show host in Columbus -- where there's no mistaking the passion for the Buckeyes and college football -- Hooley plays the role of a basketball point guard. His objective is to feed his shooters; his shoot-from-the-lip partners, Chris Spielman and Kirk Herbstreit.

"You have to set them up and let them be the stars because people are listening largely because of those two guys," said Hooley, who serves as the radio moderator of "The Big Show," a three-hour program which airs weekdays in Columbus and is simulcast online. "My role is to let them shine and bring them out," he added.

As in, "bring their personalities out" because Spielman and Herbstreit can be very opinionated. Not that it takes much prodding from Hooley for the two former Ohio State football players to express themselves. Spielman, an All-American linebacker, and Herbstreit, a serviceable but nondescript quarterback, are now starring as television analysts. Both have a high Q rating.

Outside of his ESPN travel conflicts, the intense Spielman, 42, has more of a daily commitment to "The Big Show" than the polished Herbstreit, 39, whose appearances are usually limited to once a week because of his challenging ABC/ESPN schedule. Besides drawing the Saturday night primetime slot, Herbstreit is still a fixture on College GameDay, the traveling TV roadshow.

"There is a little bit different dynamic with each of them, but they're both very easy to work with," pointed out Hooley, a 1982 Ohio State graduate, who teamed with Spielman on a noon-hour radio show at The Fan before partnering with Herbstreit.

"I called Chris the 'Voice of the Pampered Athlete' and I was the 'Voice of Reason,' and we just clicked," Hooley said. "Chris has a great sense of humor and he's someone who doesn't mind being challenged. In fact, he rather enjoys it, because it's a competitive thing with him. So we argued in a good-natured way -- just like brothers would argue."

Four seasons ago, Hooley began making a transition to full-time radio after spending 18 years in the print media covering the Buckeyes for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It was a prescient move, given the sorry state of the newspaper industry. The epiphany for Hooley came during a dinner party when his wife was obligated to entertain their guests.

"I spent the entire night in my office going over a story I had written with the lawyers from our newspaper making sure every 'i' was dotted and every 't' was crossed," said Hooley, reflecting on the controversial Maurice Clarett era at Ohio State, which ended with a national title for the Buckeyes and prison time for the troubled Clarett.

"At that point," he went on, "it kind of hit me then (that) if I continued in newspapers, there would be more nights like that and I would have to make a choice between doing my job right and missing my kid's ballgames or recitals. I do miss the competitive part of it -- trying to beat people on a story. I miss that a lot."

But he has carved out his own niche in Columbus radio, due in part to his credibility as a writer; a well-respected one, at that.

Cognizant of what will hold an audience, and what people want to talk about, Hooley has developed his skills accordingly. "When you're solo, you have to involve the callers more," he said. "And when you have a partner, the best show is usually when you can banter back and forth and argue like two guys on a bar stool or two friends at work."

There has been no shortage of topics or storylines in Columbus, not the least of which has been the grooming of freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who has displaced last year's starter, Todd Boeckman. "I'm not drinking the Pryor Kool-Aid like everybody else," Hooley said. "He has enormous potential. But he has gotten away with mistakes that I presume he won't get away with against some Big Ten defenses."

Citing the Buckeyes' ambitious road schedule -- at Wisconsin, Michigan State, Northwestern and Illinois -- Hooley said, "I agree with those people who think that every freshman quarterback will make mistakes that will get you beat at least once, and maybe twice. So it's unrealistic for people to expect him (Pryor) to play turnover-free and it could cost Ohio State a win."

Over the years, Hooley has learned to appreciate what it takes to be successful. "When I started doing Big Ten sports, Wisconsin was an afterthought," he said. "When people look back on the greatest coaching jobs, if they don't think of Barry Alvarez winning three Rose Bowls in one decade, they're missing the boat. He should be recognized as one of the all-time greatest coaches and program builders in history."

Hooley might be biased from this standpoint. "Madison is my favorite city on the road in the Big Ten," he said, reaffirming that Camp Randall Stadium has always been at the top on his list, too. "It has always been my experience that everybody who has a rear end in a seat is ardently into the game, not just watching the game, but they're really into the game."

If only they could get the students' rear ends into those seats.

Before the game.

But that's not fodder for Hooley and his Big Show co-hosts.

This is: "Whatever this (Ohio State) team felt it had to prove nationally," he said of any chip the Buckeyes may have on their shoulder after back-to-back trouncings in the BCS championship game, "USC knocked that chip into another galaxy. This is no longer a team on a mission. This is a team that is licking its wounds and trying to find itself."

Mike Lucas  —  10/02/2008 5:46 am