FOT's - Why so quiet?

[Sarah]

I think it's not so much fear of the GOMP as fear of making a lousy call--two very different things.  It would be one thing if I were GOMPed in the service of mirth, music, but knowing that my call actually deserved GOMPage would probably distress me greatly.

[Richard_From_CHI]

The only thing FOTs have to fear, is fear itself.

[John Junk]

Yeah, Richard's right.  Does FOT stand for Fear Of Tom?  Know, it stands for FRIENDS of Tom!  Give your friend a call!!!

[Mainiac FOT]

The only thing FOTs have to fear, is fearing the fear of fear.

Exactly. I got GOMP'd for the first time this week, and initially I felt bad about it, not the least of which because it sounded like Tom GOMP'd me 'cause he was getting irritated about my questions about his uncle. And I was bringing things down a bit. But rather than fearing the fear of fear, I'll just try to be better next time, and not blather  on to try and keep the call going.

[erika]

Yeah, Richard's right.  Does FOT stand for Fear Of Tom?  Know, it stands for FRIENDS of Tom!  Give your friend a call!!!

AMEN! The Junk is wise!!

Go team!

[John Junk]

Thanks for calling me wise!  I appreciate you giving me that designation even though I spelled "No" k-n-o-w. 

[rootdoc (not my real name)]

After this thread, I bet it will be hard to get on this Tues.

[Chris L]

Yeah, Richard's right.  Does FOT stand for Fear Of Tom?  Know, it stands for FRIENDS of Tom!  Give your friend a call!!!

But also be aware that thousands of people are listening and judging your every misstep.

[Eric]

I'm afraid to even taint the chat with my boringness, much less the show itself. That's why I only am in there for 20 min or so per show. If my mind freezes in the chat, there's no limit to how awkward I could be calling in. Somehow, I usually am all psyched up to call the weekend before a show takes places, but inevitably change my mind once the time comes.

This thread is pretty inspiring tho, maybe I can get up the nerve. I'm already slightly ashamed of 90% of my posts on this board, so I can probably take the shame of a bad call.

[Sarah]

Come on, Eric--you can chat, at the least!  And acro.  Jeez.

[J W Buchanan]

BOO TO THIS THREAD! BOO!

I listen to The Best Show to hear Tom yell at jerks and dump on stupid kids. To be fair, you all seem like nice people, but when you call in it's time for all the listeners to get up and make a cheese sandwich or take the dog out. I recognize that I'm not a Paycheck, or a Dave from Knoxville, or a Petey. Look into your hearts. Think about the listeners.

[thecramedog]

I listen to The Best Show to hear Tom yell at jerks and dump on stupid kids. To be fair, you all seem like nice people, but when you call in it's time for all the listeners to get up and make a cheese sandwich or take the dog out. Think about the listeners.

I argue that the best part of the Best Show is not always Tom yelling at those "stupid" people.  Often, that bums me out because it bums Tom out.  Granted, there are tons of times that this dynamic has been funny, but I've caught myself skipping through those calls on the podcast because Tom becomes that bully-character who is just plain mean.  That's doesn't always make it the BEST show.

Just one man's opinion.

[J W Buchanan]

Tom isn't just a bully, he's our bully. There's a difference.

Let me put it to you this way: Why do you hate The Best Show so much?

[Sarah]

But look at it this way, J.W.:  calls from good-mannered FOT give Tom the equivalent of making that cheese sandwich/walking that dog.  A show entirely composed of polite calls would indeed be dull, but a few unobnoxious ones offer Tom an important respite so that he can have the strength to execute all those hilarious put-downs and GOMPings--which are bloody hard work, when you come right down to it.

[Dorvid Barnas]

It seems to me that the show is popular enough now to have plenty of callers to choose from:  good ones to pal around with and bad ones to annihilate. 
It's up to Tom to decide which kind are better for the show, and I imagine it's best when there's a healthy mix of buddies and haters.  In a sense, he needs both in order to define who he is as a radio personality. 

The show's going great. I say let's all dial this focus group stuff down a notch and let him Do His Thing.