Tomorrow we’ll be running my interview with Comment Ombudsman extraordinaire, Rob Iracane (Hold your applause please). I’m so excited about the interview that I’m unilaterally declaring July 3rd Rob Iracane Day! More booze and a negligible fireworks deficit as compared to the “traditional” Independence Day.
Please join in our RID festivities by weighing in with a humorous Rob story, sharing your comment request e-mail or even sharing the comment that got you “made”.
My comment request e-mail is embarassing but I want to share it with everyone to show you what Rob has to deal with on a daily basis. Unlike many folks out there, I was unable to become a Deadspin Commenter through a witty comment. Despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t get the job done so I tried way too hard to be funny. In desperation, I ended up typing a lengthy story about my experience with a naked Japanese football team (which was 100% true by the way, but how could anyone possibly know that?). That was probably the low point. A few months later, I decided to concentrate my efforts on it for one week and still came up empty handed. So instead of giving up, I went into panic mode and sent an e-mail to Rob. You can practically taste the desperation and eagerness to please in my words:
Rob,
I’ve been making a purposeful run at becoming a Deadspin Commenter today. Certainly a challenging task. I probably flubbed my best attempt by tacking on a “Hi, I’m Leroy” reference, by the way.
One thing I didn’t realize initially is that a witty name seems to play a big part. So, I’ll make sure I go with something better than JonUSC. I’m choosing from the following:
Johnny Utah’s Knee (or The Battle of Johnny Utah’s Knee or I Left My Heart at Johnny Utah’s Knee)
The Rick Moranis Experience
Hulk Hogan’s Jealous Eyes
Basic Dog Psychology
I Thought You’d Be Bigger
Either way, I wanted to place a formal request to become a Deadspin Commenter. I’m not sure if flattery or threats work best, so I’ll stay away from both.
What you can’t gather from those words is that it took me 2-3 hours to write that e-mail. Apparently I thought quotes from movies featuring Patrick Swayze would be the golden ticket to Commenter status. I will stand by the humor in Hulk Hogan’s Jealous Eyes ’til the casket drops, even if it’s an obscure reference.
Please feel free to add your own experiences in the comments.
