ABOUT US

Bottom Line Sports Show

Brief

Shannon M. McFarland

Sports fans… Ever wonder what makes your favorite athlete so elite?  Ever wonder about their story and what makes them fight to be the best?  Through interviews, the media highlights a lot of the athlete’s journey to success in their arena– but questions about what shapes them and their personality are often left out.  Rarely would interviews pose questions that positively highlight an athlete’s journey in personal growth and development.

A different style, for different interviews, for the same athletes…

The Bottom Line Sports Show, produced by Gerald Brown, uses this media platform to really let the sports fan get to know the athlete: behind the numbers.  Gerald, with a degree in Communications from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, wanted to move his sports journalism in a totally different direction.  Tired of all the same interview content, Gerald began developing the Bottom Line Sports Show– to highlight the athlete as a person.

This concept by the BLSS, similar to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, breaks through the ignorance and perceived bondage of journalism.  This show does not stay in the dark, but move towards the light of the athlete’s purpose– which is to be a blessing to others.  In Plato’s cave, there was a prisoner who was brave enough to release his chains and find what dwells behind the shadows, just as Gerald wants his listeners to discover more about what shapes the athlete’s image versus the shape of the image…

Speaking with elite athletes, Gerald also heard about their annoyance with the same questions being asked, and at so many different times.  Exclusively, on the BLSS, these athletes appreciate the personal topics that arise because the style and flow of the interview  just takes them there…  Torii Hunter of the Angels really opened up and discussed his battle with his father’s drug addiction on the show, and sports fans may have been able to connect with and appreciate Hunter’s journey a little bit more.

Alongside Gerald are executive producers Penny Hardaway and Charles Oakley, delivering their own segments of Penny For Your Thoughts and Cafe Oakley, respectively.  Both, being NBA All-Stars, give their segments a nice assist from their professional basketball experience.  More former elite athletes, such as Mateen Cleaves and Cato June also lend their expertise to the show’s lineup.

Currently only available through podcast, the BLSS has given their listeners an interview that is more about how these athletes are impacting their community versus the leader boards.  The BLSS has had guests like Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice, to now NBA Champions Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Sugar Ray Leonard and Chris Chambliss– all sharing what makes them fight to be the best.

Whether it is family, whether it is giving back to the community, the BLSS wants to highlight the athlete’s life purpose.  What it took for them to be great, and what they continue do to make others great.  Guests on the BLSS are allowed to forget about the mundane journalism and interviews.  And they are also allowed to be themselves.