Unlikely Auburn defenders, Finebaum and Jim from Tuscaloosa, put “Bama homer” in his place
October 1, 2019
Skye Underwood
The state of Alabama has always been known for its deep rooted passion for college football. It is the very reason that Paul Finebaum went from writing columns for the Birmingham Post-Herald thirty years ago, to a multimedia empire today.
The Paul Finebaum Show had meager beginnings from its start atop Red Mountain in Birmingham, whether Paul was working alongside friendly gent Bob Lochamy, or who can forget the highly contagious laughter of Neal Vickers, the show is the very fabric of what makes Alabama and its people, for better or worse, the most passionate college football fans in the country.
Mildred: ‘Course, you know how close me and Coach Bryant were.
— Skye Underwood (@SkyeUnderwood) May 3, 2019
Finebaum: I remember a couple weeks ago, you said you and coach were umm…
Mildred: Yeah…we…uh, bumped uglies.
Finebaum: You, what?
Mildred: Bumped uglies. pic.twitter.com/4EAFJ7Mnr6
I’m sure Paul acknowledges that if it wasn’t for the fine folks in Alabama, he would never be in the position that he’s in today. Not only is his show broadcast every weekday (2-6 pm/c) on the SEC Network, but it’s also featured on Sirius XM and syndicated on the radio throughout the country. The stick Paul carries has never been bigger, his star never brighter, and his influence, never stronger.
In fact, prior to the start of the season, the New York Post released their annual ranking of the ‘20 most powerful people in college football’ and for the first time in his legendary career, Paul Finebaum wears the prestigious crown as the single most powerful sports media figure in college football, surpassing his ESPN colleague Kirk Herbstreit, who wore the crown in 2018 but was ranked one spot below Finebaum in ‘19.
And though most would acknowledge that the show has become bigger and more popular than ever before, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better, at least from the perspective of one of the most infamous callers on the show, Jim from Tuscaloosa, who is always quick to tell it like it is, whether you like it or not. Not only that, but he continually reminds Paul that the old Finebaum is the best Finebaum because that was the version that helped catapult the show into the national spotlight.
And it wasn’t long before Jim was on the phone with Paul shortly after hanging up with Greg, giving Paul credit for rediscovering the fiery spirit that he was once known for as the show’s host.
Greg from Athens is your typical biased Alabama fan who only sees through crimson colored glasses and comes unnerved anytime Auburn has any type of success on the football field and has any positive attention thrown their way.
Though Greg is supposedly “an Alabama lap dog,” as Jim calls him, when Greg calls into the show each day, he always tries to convey a point that tries to diminish any success Auburn has had this year. And while Paul shanked Greg in the gut a few times, Jim came in behind Paul and finished the job by decapitating Greg, the “geek,” as Jim calls him.
And look, Jim is a longtime, die-hard Alabama fan, but he’s as objective as they come. The last time Jim predicted Auburn would win the Iron Bowl, Auburn won the Iron Bowl in 2017. Say what you will about Jim from Tuscaloosa but this was one of the most epic calls we’ve heard this season.
On the heels of arguably one of the most impressive beat-downs in program history, Auburn annihilated Mississippi State this past weekend, 56-23, to move to 5-0 overall & 2-0 in the SEC. The Tigers are the only college football team in the country who can boast two Top 25 wins in the early season after defeating No. 11 Oregon, 27-21 in Dallas in week one and No. 17 Texas A&M, 28-20 in College Station, though the final score wasn’t indicative of the complete owning of the Aggies.
According to ESPN’s Chris Low, the Tigers have the country’s toughest schedule with a total of (6) Top 25 opponents= (4) in the Top 10 and (3) in the Top 5.
No. 7 Auburn travels to The Swamp to face No. 10 Florida (5-0, 2-0) in a Top 10 SEC West vs. East showdown, Saturday at 2:30 pm/c on CBS that should be epic. Auburn is playing like a team of destiny right now but anything is possible. They also played like a team of destiny in 2013 before having their spirits crushed with 13 seconds left. Nevertheless, the focus is on Florida right now, who lost their starting quarterback Feleipe Franks to injury earlier in the year, but the Gators got great news as most of their injured will return against Auburn including their best defender C.J. Henderson. Auburn has been playing as well as any team in the country but have to continue playing with the same fire if they wanna do something special and continue to rise among the upper echelon of college football in 2019.
You can read more about The Paul Finebaum Show and specifically one of its most legendary callers, Auburn super fan, the late Tammy Bullard in a story we wrote after her passing when former Auburn linebacker Deshaun Davis honored the Finebaum regular.
