Nashville native Joe Dubin was living a charmed life in the sports world, working in his hometown. He was an original host on 102.5 The Game when the radio station launched in 2011. Then, in March of 2015, he joined the local NBC television affiliate. After winning three Emmys along the way, poor management led him to leave in July 2021. He took a job writing for an online publication and then joined the corporate world as a “Talent Strategist Employee Experience Community Relations” guy.
He was making a good living, but couldn’t help but check in on his old life and wonder if he was missing out on something in in his new one.
“I had a great job in the corporate world that paid me a lot of money,” said Dubin. “During downtimes at work, I would check Twitter and I would see the guys and the girls at the games. You come from a world where you’re creative and you’re covering the Titans, Predators and college and now you’re worried about some guy passing a drug test in New Jersey to get a job at the warehouse.”
So, when the opportunity came up to get back in the game, Dubin jumped at the chance.
Last year, he was back on The Game doing a high school football show and earlier this month he came back to the station full-time hosting The Chase and Big Joe Show weekdays from 9 am to 11 am.
Dubin traded in his life in the corporate world for the life that he had missed. Between his new job at The Game and becoming the radio analyst for Middle Tennessee State University football broadcasts, Dubin is on cloud 9.
That other life just wasn’t him.
“I’m not a cubicle guy,” said Dubin. “I had been wanting to get back in and the opportunity came up with the MTSU football job and getting back on The Game with a lot of my dear friends who I had worked with before was truly a blessing from God.”
One of those dear friends is his co-host Chase McCabe, with whom he has had a relationship since The Game went on the air more than a decade ago. McCabe was originally Dubin’s intern and ultimately became the producer of his show. Dubin returns a version of The Game with McCabe now in charge of the station as Director of Operations and Sports Programming.
“He always had that certain something that you know a person has got and you know they are going to be a success,” said Dubin. and “Chase had that and it proved me right because I was correct about him. There are very few people in this world that I would have come back to work with on a radio show and Chase happens to be one of them.”
When you work on the air in sports radio, there’s generally not a whole lot of interaction with the bosses other than a text or email here and there, a meeting, the occasional pop-in to the studio to make sure everything is okay and special radio station events like live remotes or a community appearance.
In this case, Dubin is working with the boss every day but the dynamic isn’t strange at all.
“It’s not weird,” said Dubin. “It’s different because you respect him because he’s the boss but at the same time, he does a great job of putting that boss hat off for two hours and is just concentrating on the show and now worrying about the external things that he has to do like filling out a grid or making sure that the part-time producers are coming in.”
During our phone interview, Dubin used the word “thankful” on multiple occasions and that really sums up his emotions for being back at The Game and the opportunity to work with McCabe.
“Judge a radio show by a two-hour cab ride, meaning if you’re going to take a two-hour cab ride, which radio hosts would you want to go with you on that ride if you got stuck in traffic?” said Dubin. “Chase was always number one so the fact that this came true is even better because he’s the one guy I would want to be stuck in a cab with and now I’m hosting a show with him.”
The sports talk industry has changed a bit from when Dubin left The Game in 2015 to where it is now as he returns to what is a different landscape. From the world we live in to the technology, sports talk radio is not the same old ballgame from 8 years ago.
“I think politics has divided so many people but what unites us is sports,” said Dubin. “People see sports talk now as a way to put everything else aside and the external things that are happening and let’s just talk sports. We can laugh and we can argue with each other but in a fun and different way.”
Taking calls and reading emails and texts was something that Dubin had to do in his office job, but that life pales in comparison to the rush and passion of talking about sports on the radio. It was something he was meant to do.
And maybe there was a bit of divine intervention that pulled him back in.
“Anybody could have done the corporate job that I had,” said Dubin. “Not many people can do the job I’m doing now. The good Lord said ‘Look you’re past that. Let’s do the radio, let’s do the writing, and let’s do the football color commentary and go for it.’ That’s my talent. That’s my gift. And that’s why I had to get out of the corporate world.”
And now, Dubin is back in the sports talk industry to go along with the MTSU Football gig and writing for 18 different newspapers around the state. One always has to wonder, though, if there’s still a box to check off in the industry.
For Dubin, it doesn’t get any better than what he’s done and what he’s doing.
“I’ve won Emmys in the sports world which I’ve earned and I busted my ass for,” said Dubin. “I’ve been able to host a talk show in my hometown. I get to call college football games on Saturday. I don’t know how it could get any better than what’s happening right now. I’m extremely grateful when my keycard works and I can get in the building. Maybe years down the road, something will come up but right now? Nothing.”
Joe Dubin is no cubicle guy. He’s a radio guy. He’s a sports guy. And he’s doing it in his hometown of Nashville. It’s all music to his ears.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
