Jim Armstrong is a real live sports writer
More Jock Itch
Longtime Denver Post sports columnist and talk radio host Jim Armstrong was getting his laptop fixed when he answered The A.V. Club’s phone call. As a guitar is to a guitarist, the laptop is a crucial piece of the 21st century sports writer’s arsenal and needs to be in perfect working order for a jock wordsmith like Armstrong. But unlike notoriously prickly musicians like Neil Young—Armstrong’s confirmed man-crush—Armstrong was his usual mellow self while talking to The A.V. Club about writing with an edge, wearing Hawaiian shirts, and how many Neil Young albums he owns.
The A.V. Club: As a kid from Wisconsin, how did you develop such an affinity for Hawaiian shirts?
Jim Armstrong: I’m fat and they fit. That’s what I tell everyone. An old girlfriend of mine in college told me I needed to lose the plaids and boring stuff and wear something a little flashy. I’m also a big Hawaii guy. I’ve been to Maui 15 times and I just love it, so it gives me an excuse to buy four or five shirts every time I go.
AVC: You have a classic-rock vibe on your radio show, The Score (on AM 1510). Is that where your musical tastes are at?
JA: I’m a classic-rock guy. Love Led Zeppelin. Love the Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd. I’ll tell you what, the day Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane went down I had eighth row tickets at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago. That was bad, bad, bad. We were so jacked up to see Skynyrd, I can’t even tell you.
AVC: How did that news spread? Today you’d have that on Twitter a few minutes after it happened.
JA: I’ll never forget it. I was a student in Madison and Walter Cronkite came on TV and said, “Rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd…” And I thought, “Where’s Walter Cronkite going with this?” And when he said it, I was like, “Oh no, man!” But Neil Young is my guitar hero. I’ve seen him in concert—I’ve lost track how many times.
AVC: Neil Young still puts out good music.
JA: Don’t ever forget, his perfection is in his imperfection.
AVC: What’s your favorite Neil Young album? You can break it down by era if you need to.
JA: Zuma. But I know every song he’s ever done. It’s in my car; it’s in my office at my house. I’ll admit it—I’m queer for the guy. I’ve got a portrait of him in my office. I do like him since he’s a bit of a mystery man. He likes his privacy. Barry Fey and I are very close friends and I ask him all the time about Neil. And he says Neil is not a bad guy, but he’s the most temperamental musician he’s ever met. Everything has to be exactly right.
AVC: You occasionally fill in for Woody Paige on ESPN’s Around The Horn. And you always seem to be wearing something nice. Have you ever gotten to wear a Hawaiian shirt on the air?
JA: I have not, and I’ve gotten a lot of grief about it. I was going to wear a bow tie one day just to prong 'em.
AVC: Is ATH something you would like to do on a regular basis?
JA: Absolutely. Around The Horn I would classify as an acquired taste. The reason it’s become so popular is that it’s all the rage on college campuses. The thinking at ESPN is the kids think it’s cool that these are real live sports writers, [which] is kind of a dying breed. But we’re not old-time sports writers preaching old-time stuff to kids—we’re having fun.
AVC: The Internet has made the interaction with you and the fans a two-way street. When they tell you that you suck, how do you shake that off?
JA: Woody’s my mentor and he taught me a long time ago that not everyone can write with an edge and some humor. But if you write with an edge, you’re going tick some people off and when they start grumbling at you, you just have to take it. Which is what Woody does. So I do that too. I’d love to save you my top 10 e-mails of the week. They’re all nasty. That’s fine.
AVC: What about dealing with the players?
JA: I only operate by two rules. Number one: Never make it personal. And number two: Always be fair. I feel kind of bad that some people have this idea that players are bad guys. They’ve got their share of wife-beaters and drunk drivers, but the players are pretty good all in all. But if you made 10 million bucks a year and were in unbelievable shape with 5 percent body fat and a lot of pretty girlfriends and were driving a Porsche, what do you have to grumble about, Sparky? Come on now. Work with me.
