It was impassioned. It was pointed. And it sure seemed to be from the heart. But was Randy Karraker’s emotional speech Tuesday night — at the public forum the NFL held in St. Louis to address the team’s possible move back to Southern California — proper?
The session, at which he took shots at Rams owner Stan Kroenke and stuck up for St. Louis interests, was supposed to be for the general public — not members of the media. And Karraker is a prominent sports-talk show host at Rams flagship radio station WXOS (101.1 FM).
But Karraker, who has worked at other high-profile local stations over the years, doesn’t hide his St. Louis fandom on the air. And he said he took the microphone as a fan, not a sportscaster, saying he has been a season-ticket holder since the team arrived in town in 1995. And it was an emotional moment for him when he was called to speak.
“You can see the passion, I am a passionate football fan,” he told the committee members as he choked back tears and his voice cracked. He quickly gained his composure and went on to talk about Kroenke’s absence locally, how it has been nearly four years since Kroenke last addressed the team’s followers. He contrasted that to the public activities of Blues owner Tom Stillman and the Cardinals’ Bill DeWitt Jr.
“His detachment is a big reason … he’s trying to make it a bad football market,” Karraker said. “This is not a bad football market, it is a speculator football town.”
“If the market was so bad, why did he take a bad deal?” Karraker asked. “He’s a great businessman. … The market is less challenging now.”
Karraker also detailed some of the items in the NFL’s policy on teams moving and said the Rams “don’t meet 90 percent of relocation guidelines.”
His parting words were pointed:
“All we can ask for as fans is a chance and an opportunity from you, the league, because clearly we aren’t getting that from our owner.”
Karraker, in an interview, looked back at his night in the spotlight and said it was “complete luck” that he was called on to talk after he met a friend at the meeting, which was held at Peabody Opera House.
“Within minutes NFL people came to our section and asked if anyone wanted to speak,” Karraker said, adding he was surprised. “I went there with the idea I probably wouldn’t be able to speak. I was prepared for that, I was actually shocked when they came and made the offer.”
But was it right for him to accept? There’s a big difference between having an opinion on the air and becoming an activist, which could lead to listeners questioning his objectivity — and that of the station in general, which has a lot of its programming based around the Rams.
Karraker emphasized that he was speaking strictly as a fan.
“I made it a point to not even request (media) credentials,” he said. “If I didn’t get in as a fan, I wasn’t going to go. That’s why I introduced myself (at the podium) as a charter PSL holder. I went there with the idea that I wasn’t the guy who sits in the ‘Fast Lane’ chair every weekday from 3-7. I went there as the guy who sits in Section 413, Row A, Seats 10-11 every Sunday.”
On the air Wednesday, Karraker said he feels the fans’ frustrations.
“We are all in this same boat,” he said. “I’m glad they recognize I love them.”
But not everyone was impressed. KXFN (1380 AM) sports-talk host Kevin Slaten called Karraker a “crybaby” and unprofessional on the air. He added that it isn’t as if a relative had died, and belittled the entire tone of the event in which many fans spoke, some rambling. He said it made St. Louisans look like they were displaying a “hillbilly hoedown” atmosphere to the NFL.
Karraker, meanwhile, said the emotional start to his speech was a reaction to the energy in the room generated by Rams fans.
“The moment hit me,” he said in the interview. “I was thrilled at the response that Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz got. (They lead the movement to keep the NFL in St. Louis.) To feel the passion in that room, from those fans from so many different walks of life, it did hit me. Then when they started chanting my name — I’m not that big of a deal — that really hit me.”
To read the rest of the article visit STL Today where it was originally published
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
