And so, it begins . . .

The Dennis and Callahan morning sports talk radio show on WEEI in Boston is one of the top rated shows in America in any format category. Comprised of witty hosts, an infuriating, yet somehow still loveable flash boy, a great lineup of guests, and a loyal legion of listeners and callers, it is a tremendously enjoyable show that helps me (and many others) get through my minimum one hour morning commute - with one major exception; an evil, malignant force named Iggy.

Those of you already familiar with the D&C show know him as the producer everyone loves to hate, and I would wager that the majority of you do indeed loathe and despise him. For those of you not familiar with Iggy, he is an annoying, uninformed, left-wing, bomb-tossing, brainwashed moonbat. As a (small 'L') libertarian, he and everything he espouses are anathema to me, but that is not what makes him such a loathsome character. Michael Holley, co-host of WEEI’s mid-day Dale and Holley show, and Brett, a producer of WEEI’s afternoon Big Show are both liberals. The Big Show baseball writer co-hosts also peg to the left of Lenin on the commumeter, yet I listen to them all and while virtually never agreeing with them politically, can tolerate them and often even enjoy the experience.

What makes Iggy so despicable is that comes off as one of those classic liberals who all through his life has moved in cloistered, independent thought-lacking circles (no one I know voted for Reagan), never having to defend his positions. When confronted with uncomfortable realities, he reverts to preaching classic liberal dogma. When stymied with facts, he’ll change the argument or launch a personal attack on the conservative figure of convenience. He is the type of person who when finally, and predictably is fenced into a corner will resort to screaming HALIBURTON!

As John Dennis and Gerry Callahan can attest, he is an extremely polarizing figure. His rants immediately trigger a flurry of emails and phone calls from listeners, the vast majority of them begging that he be fitted with a ball gag and locked in a basement with a gimp mask-wearing Larry Craig. His very voice has become such a harbinger of disgust that I cringe even when he merely answers a question about an upcoming guest or a sports-related topic. If he were to announce on air that I had just won a $200 million Powerball drawing, it would still rankle me.

I know that in talk radio, anything that gets people excited is generally considered good for ratings, but the sound of his voice has created such a negative pavlovian response, that I now simply change the channel when he kicks off on one of his baseless rants - I guess that would be redundant. Sometimes I switch back after a few minutes, sometimes I move on to something else. I’m no marketing genius, but I would lay odds that this is not good for ratings, and I suspect that I am not the only listener who is being bled away.

For my own personal satisfaction, I have taken on the task of providing a forum where the inaccuracies and insanity of Iggy can be highlighted and castigated, and where other frustrated listeners can make their feelings about Iggy known. Hopefully, a groundswell of popular sentiment will convince D&C to finally muzzle this buffoon who’s only purpose on the air is to ruin people’s mornings. Iggy, you have sown; now you shall reap.