One on One with REEPJP

….or they could sign him since he’s probably the only other person that could walk through the special “Nate Robinson Only” door they installed in their locker room without ducking. They can’t just let it go to waste… -REEPJP

You remember Delonte West’s correspondent piece on Jim Rome? You remember Rome saying that the bar for those pieces was just raised? Yep. Joe may be the new standard bearer for commenter interviews. Not really because of his answers, or pictures or even his offer of free beverages. Mostly it’s because he had the stones to link the wedding video rap. How player is that?

1. Favorite sport to watch in person.

Hmm….I guess I’m going to have to go with the crowd on this one and say baseball, although hockey is a close 2nd. Sometimes I feel like I must be every local team’s marketing dream…I am a sucker for “free” giveaways (is it really free if you paid for your ticket?) and promotional nights…..”you mean it’s buck-a-bone night AND they’re giving out free rally towels! Honey, cancel all of our plans tonight, we HAVE to go to this game!” Quite honestly, when I’m going to the game anymore it takes a night like this to convince me lady to come with me. Anyways, baseball is meant to be watched in person….grab a hotdog, a few brewskis, a bag of peanuts and I’m good to go.

2. Favorite sport to watch on tv.

With the strides HDTV has made in the last few years, what sports aren’t fun to watch on TV? I just bought a new 47″ LED and can’t begin to explain the excitement I’m holding in for football season to come around. Cable cams, Mic’d up coaches, 37 different angles, real time stats, and cheap frat sodas waiting in the fridge have to make football number 1.

3. Sports or hobbies you play.

During the summers I play in a co-rec slow pitch softball league here in Columbus and take it waaaay too seriously. I also try fitting in as much golf, cornhole, and watersports as possible in between.

During the winters we are in co-rec bowling league (Team Name: Sofa King Suite) and are very very average.

4. Married? Kids?

Just got married two weeks ago (June 5) and hopefully no kiddos for at least a few years. The link right here is to a YouTube video we played at the reception before everyone started eating……I think I repped my Ohio/Cleveland sports pretty well.

5. Favorite Cleveland sports memory.

I was pretty lucky growing up, in that one of my uncles had season tickets for the Tribe starting in the old Muni stadium and up until last year. That’s not the lucky part, the lucky part is that he only had 1 kid still living with him at the time and he happened to have 4 tickets…..so when you do the math (4 tickets – 1 Uncle – 1 Aunt – 1 Cousin = 1 spare ticket) I was able to snag that extra ticket quite a bit. I went to lots and lots of regular season games, lots of playoff games, 2 World Series Games, and the All Star Homerun Derby. The times I was able to spend at the Jake during those years were really pretty awesome.

I also seem to pick interesting games for the 1 or 2 times I make it up for a Browns game each year. I was in CBS for bottlefest, the only playoff clincher since ’99 vs. Atlanta, the Orlando Brown debacle, and the white out game vs. Buffalo in ’07…I don’t know why, but it seems like almost every time I go to a game something interesting happens……any season ticket holders out there that don’t care about the outcome of the game, only that it’s interesting, I’m taking donations.

6. Most heartbreaking loss.

It’s gotta be the ’97 Game 7. I was 12 years old at the time and I perhaps on the inside knew what was about to happen before fully understanding the curse that is Cleveland fandom that was passed on to me at birth. Because of this, or maybe because I was 12 and tired, I decided I was going to listen to the 9th inning on the radio in bed as opposed to watching on TV. Well, as I was listening to Tommy H. on the radio I didn’t believe what was happening. After the game was over I sat in my bed and cried myself to sleep. The next morning I woke up really early to turn on the tv and confirm that I had just had a bad dream…..as we all know, unfortunately I wasn’t so lucky.

A close second for me, and I’m sure many of you can’t relate, but since I went to Miami U in Oxford it was tough, was the 2009 disaster in the Frozen Four finale……to be up 2 goals with less than 2 minutes left and to lose the way they did was pretty devastating. Luckily (or is it unluckily), I was used to this disappointment as a lifelong Cleveland fan and didn’t take it quite as bad as some others.

7. Which team do you most want a title for (Browns, Tribe, Cavs)?

Browns most definitely. As the Browns go, so does the city of Cleveland…..lets hope the new regime has things turned in the right direction and we see some solid progress this season.

8. Your dream piece of Cleveland sports memorabilia.

Is it ok if this piece of memorabilia doesn’t exist yet? How about a framed ticket stub, picture of me on the field after the game, program, and issue of the plain dealer for the elusive Cleveland championship we are all “Waiting For”? I think I’ll save a spot on the wall in the man cave for this one.

9. Favorite place to watch a game.

Right Here. We like to tailgate for all the home OSU games. Each year we add a few new elements to the set-up and this year will be no different. If you’re ever down for a game and want to grab a quick man pop before you head into the stadium, shoot me an email (joe.reep@gmail.com) and I would be more than happy to oblige.

10. Any superstitions

No ongoing superstitions…..I subconsciously think of things I did before/during/after the last game (assuming it was a win) and try to repeat them, but it’s nothing like lucky drawers, closing the door 64 times, or singing along to “We’re Talking Baseball” before every game.

11. What would be your entrance music?

My full name is Joe Reep…….how could I not choose “Don’t Fear the Reaper”……I might be better and more intimidating if the song was actually “Do Fear the Reaper” as opposed to basically telling my opponent that I’m an “easy out” or pansy or for whatever reason they shouldn’t fear me, but it’s my last name….too easy.

Why Cleveland teams?

I’ve never really thought about this one too much. I was born and raised in Ashland, OH (Home of the best gas station ever…if you’re on 71 stop at the Goasis). Cleveland was the closest city geographically to me that had professional sports and my dad is a big Browns fan so it was natural. I told my (then future) wife that when we were looking for a city to move to together, we had to be in range to get the Cavs, Browns, and Tribe on tv which is how we landed in Cbus.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to do this little write-up. I don’t comment too too often this time of year because my true passion lies with the Brownies, but many times have filled out a long comment only to delete it all for fear of sounding dumb. haha This piece along with all of the other commenter bios have given me an opportunity to examine my sports fandom and has given me something to show the wife as a way of explaining that there are other people out there like me haha.