Carmichael Dave BIG-TIME in Houston

[PurpleHaze]

I was born in the Houston suburb of Pasadena - kind of the Carmichael of the Bayou City. Left there at a very young age but, still have plenty of relatives in the Texas gulf coast area - many of them rowdy Rockets, Astros and Texans fans.

I don't recall more than a handful of Carmichael Dave inspired posts ever at KingsFans.com - but that's certainly not the case in the past couple days at Houston's most active online sports forum. ClutchFans.net has been buzzing wildly ever since the RonRon trade was announced with dozens of CarmDave posts on top of a mountain of blubs on what Tru Warier means for H-Town.

They even have a poll asking if Carmichael Dave should tag along with Artest and take a big-time sports radio gig in Houston. YES votes currently at 116 with only 18 NO votes cast.

Anyone who spends even a few minutes reading some of these fanatical Rockets fans posts cannot help being impressed with their overall knowledge, passion and humor. Maybe Dave should seriously explore a career move to the nations 4th largest city and 6th largest metro area. Some of its advantages are chugging along nicely housing market in the face of a national recession in residential real estate. The city's $152,500 median home sale price is up 6.6% from 2005. It boasts a low vacancy rate and an oil-rich economy. Throw in a bubbling entrepreneurial tech scene, and that's four factors putting Houston on the top of the list of best places in America to buy a house just over $150,000. For about $200,000 you can get a 2,000+ square foot gorgeous brick home that would list in Sacramento for more than double that, even with the current down in the dumps market in California's capital.

So Dave, if your contemplating packing your ten gallon hat - a few tips once you arrive. First, drive endlessly around its multiple freeway loops and beltways that circle the city to get a feel for the constantly horrible bumper to bumper traffic. Look high up at Houston's stunningly impressive skyline and see several of the tallest skyscrapers in North America, if not the world. Then check out the very cool NASA Space Center and see why local sports names Astros, Rockets, Comets, etc. are ingrained in the Bayou City, Clutch City, H-Town culture. Maybe hit some of the many ethnic enclaves in a hip modern multi-cultural city sampling a delicious "Asian sandwich" along the way. Try one of the two China Towns downtown or in the South West part of the city which also blends into Vietnam Town or visit yet another Little Saigon in Mid Town.

In short Dave, you'd be smart it check out Big H and see what opportunity possibly awaits. You'll never know unless you go there for a visit if it's nothing more than a stinking, polluted, cesspool of oppressively hot, redneck meets urban gay cowboy pseudo-paradise geeks - or something you've been missing for all your young 30-something years. Enjoy the ride for however long it lasts!

 

[kennadog]

Thanks to that oil rich economy, there's no state taxes in Texas, either. Don't think you could pay me to move to Texas, tho. (Maybe S. Antonio or Austin.)

 

[Bricklayer]

Thanks to that oil rich economy, there's no state taxes in Texas, either.

Unfortunately there are, however, Texans in Texas.

 

[kennadog]

Unfortunately there are, however, Texans in Texas.

Exactly!

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Houston is definitely one of the most unpleasant cities I've ever travelled to. And I did give it a chance, really!

I'd like to visit Austin someday though.

 

[PurpleHaze]

I left H-town at age 8, but have been back numerous times over the years for visits with relatives. I despise the horribly hot, humid summers, but as a place offering dynamic job growth, low taxes, property rights, second amendment rights, and overall very reasonable living expenses, it rates high.

My favorite parts of gigantic Republic of Texas are the gorgeous rolling hill country between San Antonio and Austin, plus sparkling gulf coast in and around Corpus Christi. Don't think I would want to live again in terribly crowded, high crime mega cities of Houston or Dallas-Ft.Worth - and definitely not garbage dumps along the Rio Grande like El Paso, Laredo, etc. Also, peeps back there often mention perils of California earthquakes, forest fires, etc. They have to put up with plenty of annual hurricanes and tornadoes - worse IMO.

 

[Warhawk]

Also, peeps back there often mention perils of California earthquakes, forest fires, etc. They have to put up with plenty of annual hurricanes and tornadoes - worse IMO.

I wonder how many folks across the country realize that the worst EQ threat is only along the San Andreas fault (and a few others, but most are fairly close to the SA). Vast swaths of California have very little danger from EQ, including the Sacramento area. They automatically think CA=EQ....

 

[Kingzrool]

Trying to get rid of Dave eh?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Maybe they just don't like California, and that was their notion of trying to be polite?

 

[PurpleHaze]

Trying to get rid of Dave eh?

Hmmm, maybe. Actually, he's still a relatively young man with some good on-air talent, as long as it's limited to radio. Somehow, I get the feel he's not widely traveled though. By the time I was his age I'd been all across the USA from North, South, East, and West. I'd lived in Europe, Mid-East and Asia as a military brat and now decades later traveled to over 50 countries worldwide. Unfortunately, most people I've met in Sacramento his age or even much older have only been about as far as Reno-Tahoe, maybe a trip down I-5 to Disneyland, and about their most exotic-cultural international experience was doing ChinaTown in San Francisco

 

[king07]

I hope so too; i wouldn't have to listen to espn anymore if he's gone.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Please excuse this rambling TDOS post if it's not your cup of tea.

CarmDave is still all the rage at clutchfans.net. He's going to be in Houston this weekend and it appears much of next week. HIS fans is H-town are practically screaming, begging, one of several sports radio stations there to hire him.

Tonight on his show in Sac he was complaining that their was no A/C in the studio. Within seconds a Rockets fan at clutchfans was saying, "no worry Dave as there's A/C in Houston." Meanwhile, Dave was discussing his vacation the past few days to SF and the usual tourist traps of Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli, etc. - the man is REALLY seeing the world now!

Back to the Carmichael Dave show, I think. I assume he has thousands more Houstonians listening at this point than Sacramentans.

 

[SLAB]

Oh it would be a shame for him to leave...I don't catch his show often, but every time I do I know Im getting pure radio gold.

 

[VF21]

I wish Dave all the luck in the world. If he finds a niche in Houston, congratulations are definitely in order. He's come a long way from the fan who used to call into KHTK all the time.

 

[PurpleHaze]

I agree. I've kidded a bit about him, but it's really only same kind of satire he dishes out on his crazy show. He keeps giving certain direct or subliminal type messages that range from saying he'd never go to Houston (hahaha), to they would be offering him over 3 times what he's making at KTHK (hmmm), or cracking obvious inside jokes (what the !&!#% did he say?) or clutchfans.net chat tidbits where's he's signed on to bask in Houston fan adulation.

 

[carmichaeldave]

Thanks for the kind words. We definitely stumbled onto some fun over there at clutchfans.

I suspect that many of the "Should Dave come to Houston" yes votes are from my listeners

 

[mrlaze]

Im guessing if Dave goes anywhere else in the radio/broadcasting world it will be into the MMA realm.

Not becuase Artest was traded.

 

[king07]

Message to Dave: Please stop talking about the freaking ufc and all that other crap!

The average sports fan who tunes into a sports radio station doesn't give a rat's behind about the whole mma crap.

I don't mind it every now and then but you're OVERDOING it man!

/ rant

 

[carmichaeldave]

sorry, but you're wrong.

not to sound mean, but it bothers me when people make sweeping statements about what other people like/dislike.

every piece of research, every survey, every ratings book all say the same thing......people love the coverage. we have become a de facto national show because of our mma coverage.

a comment like "the average sports fan doesnt care about that mma crap" is terribly ignorant, and just plain wrong. YOU may not care, but the demographic cares very deeply, which is why it is the fastest growing sport by far.

I will say this. Due to the massive unpopularity of the MMA coverage, we will be expanding into an MMA only weekend show in addition to my regular nighttime duties. In fact, this was supposed to happen a while ago, but quite frankly, I've had to slow down and catch up with the rest of the projects we have going.

I guess the good news for you is that when I do launch the weekly MMA show, I will make an effort to focus more of my coverage there, and therefore spend less time on the weekday show dealing with the sport.

(provided I'm still here

Please dont get me wrong, I really do appreciate the criticism, and I absolutely take it to heart. Understand that I have fought a lot of internal battles with my bosses who used to hate me talking MMA, and now that the ratings have won that battle for me, I still get in battle mode sometimes.

Thanks for listening, and God Bless America.

YES WE CAN, YES WE CAN

 

[VF21]

I think you're drawing too broad a generalization from specific numbers. Yes, the popularity of MMA is growing among a certain demographic but that does NOT by any stretch of the imagination mean the "average sports fan" likes it.

Why not? Because it's impossible to define "average sports fan." I think king07 was wrong in his sweeping generalization, but that doesn't change the fact that for a number of sports fans, MMA isn't their cup of tea.

If you're going to start talking demographics, what group are you aiming at? My guess is the 17-35 male. Right?

 

[carmichaeldave]

Good points.

All male of course, that's just how it skews.

12+, 18-34, 25-34, and 25-54. Those are the demos I speak on.

You're absolutely right, there are plenty of people that are not into the sport. There are also plently of people that are not into basketball, or baseball, or football. When there is something to talk about in those subjects, I definitely go there. However, i refuse to beat a subject to death when its been done all day long, or I dont feel the passion for.

The show is the only voice in town (and one of the few in the nation) that covers the sport of MMA. It is a niche, but a quickly growing one. The response has been tremendous, and I am happy for that.

As I always have said, it is impossible to please everyone. Every time I talk about sports "too much", I get complaints that people are bored, and want more talk about video games and cereal. Vice versa, when I get into too much pop culture, some people want more sports.

That's why i talk about what I want, and let the audience drive the rest of the show.

When I talk about something that isnt one's cup of tea, there are two choices in my book:

1. Stick around, and maybe learn something fun

2. Explore the many other alternatives on the radio dial, TV, Ipod, or Cd player. What I do is certainly not for everyone 100% of the time, and my feelings never get hurt if someone decides to move on. That's just the way it is.

When I speak of the average sports fan, I speak of the average sports fan that falls into those demographics that my job dictates I focus on.

 

[kennadog]

When I talk about something that isnt one's cup of tea, there are two choices in my book:

1. Stick around, and maybe learn something fun

2. Explore the many other alternatives on the radio dial, TV, Ipod, or Cd player.

How I feel about people that don't like the WNBA coverage. Every sport isn't for everyone. I don't care for the MMA, but I do have a life besides listening to KHTK 24 hours a day. (Sorry Dave.)