If you Google “Adam Copeland”, the first thing that comes up is “Adam Copeland…Edge-Canadian professional Wrestler.”
Not that people would directly confuse the former WWE “Rated R Superstar” with sports radio host Adam Copeland, but sometimes there is a bit of confusion.
“I’d say maybe once a week or once every two weeks I would get tagged on Twitter or on Instagram on something that was intended for him,” said Copeland.
“I’m 33 and I grew up in the ‘Attitude Era’. Me, my brother, and sister were huge WWF and WWE fans when we were kids. I was probably 12 or 13 when we found out that Edge had the same first and last name as me. I’ve tweeted at him a couple of times and he’s never responded but he’s interacted with the tweets.”
Back in the day, Edge and Christian were one of the best tag teams in WWE and today, Edge’s namesake Adam Copeland is part of another great team co-hosting Tolbert and Copes with Tom Tolbert weekdays from 2:00-6:00 PM on KNBR in San Francisco.
Copeland feels privileged an honored to be working with a Bay Area legend.
“Tom is a legend and has been doing this for 25 years or so,” said Copeland. “He has the NBA background and he’s what I think a lot of people think of in the Bay Area when they think of sports talk radio because he’s just like one of the guys. He’s a dude drinking beer and hanging out watching sports and more than anything a fan first than a former professional athlete.”
Copeland started at KNBR as an intern in 2009 and he had been hosting The Leadoff Spot on KNBR from 5:00-6:00 AM weekdays while also serving as a producer, board op and on-air personality for the Murph & Mac morning show.
When the opportunity was presented to him to co-host afternoon drive with Tolbert, Copeland admitted had some butterflies.
“I was really nervous about the gig,” said Copeland. “I never hosted a show with him. He’s the one guy I never filled in with. When they offered me the job, my first reaction was what does Tom think? He was intrigued by the idea and was looking for a different sound. He’s taken me under his wing and has been really good to me.”
Growing up a Giants, 49ers, and Warriors fan in the East Bay city of San Leandro, Copeland was destined — in a way — to be in sports radio. It’s like a scene right out of the movie My Cousin Vinny when Mona Lisa Vito is asked about her qualifications and expertise in automotive knowledge.
“My father was a mechanic. His father was a mechanic. My mother’s father was a mechanic. My three brothers are mechanics. Four uncles on my father’s side are mechanics.”
In the case of Adam Copeland…
“My dad was a radio host in the Bay Area for a long time and my sister is a journalist,” said Copeland. “My dad is also a comedian and a playwright. My brother is a musician.”
And so, Copeland has joined them in the entertainment industry.
He wanted a career in sports but just had to find the right way to be involved. Copeland was a pretty good baseball player for Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California where he also played basketball, but becoming a pro athlete was something that was not in the cards.
So, he looked at other options.
“I want to be involved in sports,” said Copeland. “So, I took a kinesiology class in high school and I was like yeah, I’m not going to be a sports trainer. There’s no way I’m going to school for all of this medical background stuff we’ve got to do and so I started putting my head to it.”
When Copeland went to Chabot College, a junior college in Hayward, California, he started working at KCRH, the college’s radio station with a small FM signal that didn’t leave the parking lot.
“I was thinking I’m going to throw to a commercial break but there’s no commercial break,” said Copeland.
Working at that college station paved the way for Copeland to embark on a career in radio.
“I think once I got into college right out of high school is when I started making that decision that media and sports media is something that I wanted to do.”
From there, Copeland would go on to major in broadcast journalism at San Francisco State University.
And now, he’s co-hosting afternoon drive on an all-sports station that he grew up listening to and working with established veterans that inspired him to get into the business.
“It’s pretty special, said Copeland. “When I grew up in the East Bay and I learned to drive, I didn’t listen to music at all. I was never a music fan and I hardly ever went to concerts. I was super into sports radio so they were guys that I would listen to when I was learning to drive or I was driving my sister to high school. To work with some guys who are older than me and who I legitimately grew up looking up to is extremely special.”
And it’s from those veteran talk show hosts where Copeland learned what it takes to be a successful sports talk show host. Listeners tune in to get the hosts takes on what is happening in the world of sports, but there’s also an element of entertainment that makes for good radio.
Copeland knows exactly what his role is.
“I try to say frequently that I am not a journalist,” said Copeland. “We’re talking heads. We’re entertainment for the most part. While I do think it’s my responsibility when you’re reporting facts to report facts themselves and then it’s my job to give opinion on that and commentary on that. That’s the entertaining aspect to make good radio.”
As the calendar is set to flip from 2022 to 2023, Copeland is hoping that a successful first year in afternoon drive leads to bigger and better things in the new year.
Like climbing to the top of the mountain of his time slot.
“Be number one is first and foremost,” said Copeland. “To me, Tom Tolbert is such a big star that there’s no reason that he shouldn’t be number one. That’s our number one goal for sure and it’s about making KNBR the sustainable brand and carrying on the sustainable brand that KNBR has been.”
And beyond the success he’s enjoyed in radio, Copeland has his sights set on some other platforms in sports broadcasting.
“My hope is also to make the jump into television,” said Copeland. “I would love to get into some baseball and television stuff. I would love to be an analyst or a studio guy in that regard.”
And of course, there’s that piece of unfinished business of trying to meet Edge and maybe, just maybe, the time will come when Copeland meets the former wrestling star who shares the same real name.
“It’s something I always felt was pretty cool because I was into wrestling as a kid,” said Copeland. “I’m still hoping one day to get a chance to meet him. The Rated R Superstar’ is a pretty sweet nickname. I’ll roll with that.”
Right now, Adam Copeland is rolling with an afternoon drive show on a radio station he grew up listening to. Working with a Bay Area legend in Tom Tolbert, Copeland is doing his part to give KNBR a big “Edge” in the afternoons.
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.
