Rip City Project
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Blazers-focused ‘2nd String Sports’ enters Portland podcasting starting lineup

Blazers and the NBA
Blazers and the NBA

A few Beavers talk Portland Trail Blazers and get their second-string game on with a new sports-centric podcast.

Three Oregon State University graduates have exercised their college sports radio host experience to create and co-host a podcast series offering a fans’ perspective on the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jake McGrady (@Mr_Portland), Grant Ocampo (@GrantOcampo) and Geoffrey Lowe (@GLOWESHOW6), all equipped with either a business or communications degree, spearhead the Rip City conversation that is 2nd String Sports.

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“We came up with 2nd String Sports because we wanted something that encompassed our personality and the way we talk to each other normally,” McGrady said. “It basically means, ‘We talk sports, because we’re not good enough to go pro.’ Essentially, we’re doing what your average second-string player would do: talk … about any and everything like we’re on the bench. When we had the ability to control our own show uncensored and raw, that’s when things really started rolling.”

Talking Blazers, Sports, Life and More

It is not your typical sports — or even Blazers-centric — podcast, such as Trail Blazers Courtside or The Starters. The 2nd String Sports trio truly speaks what is on their minds without any inhibitions.

All 57 episodes so far (beginning with its inception in September 2016) are marked explicit on iTunes. The pod’s description reads, “unfiltered sports podcast from 3 former college sports radio hosts. Talkin’ OSU sports, NFL, NBA, NSFW Rip City rants & any other random bulls*t we can think to talk about. You’ve been warned.”

“It truly just feels like three good friends talking sports, life, and whatever else comes to our mind,” Ocampo said. “Wherever the conversation goes, we’re all going to have some sort of opinion. Over time, I’ve realized that we have an amazing personality mix that just naturally blends into comedy. We are able to just freely talk and have nothing we do feel forced.”

The Rival

McGrady and Ocampo fostered their Portland roots and experience in radio broadcasting to create a realized product. As a Lakers fan, Lowe doesn’t share the same Blazers basketball fandom (a point that often gets brought up during discussion) but offers an unbiased perspective on how the Blazers are progressing.

“Our dynamic makes for some pretty funny debates given that Geoff is from Los Angeles and is a huge Lakers fan,” McGrady said. “Our Blazer-fan listeners still love Geoff, even though they love to give him major (stuff) on social media. It’s all in good fun. There’s an objective viewpoint, and it’s not just blind Blazer love, which makes our podcast different than all the other ones. That’s what makes the podcast great: We’re not all Blazer fans with one point of view.”

Of course, Rip City has to hear out the rival’s side as well.

“Contrary to popular belief, I do not hate the Blazers or the fans, even though it may come through that way on the pod from time to time,” Lowe said. “The Blazers are fun to watch, and I love that the whole city gets behind them. However, I do love making fun of the Blazers and their fans sometimes.”

Lowe said a lot of Portland fans on Twitter are very passionate but “don’t … always look at their team with the clearest lens.”

“(The Blazers) are a mid-market franchise that struggles to keep talent,” Lowe said. “The way the NBA is set up, those mid-market teams are never going to win a championship, and I think a lot of people don’t realize or don’t want to realize that. I try to shed some light on that. But that is also the fun part of being a fan — blindly rooting for your team no matter what some douchebag from L.A. may say about them.”

Notable Guests

The constant chummy banter on the show highlights the chemistry amongst all podcasters. This type of team chemistry lends itself to productive interviews with guests, most notably the first episode of this calendar year with the rock band, Portugal. The Man — a group that currently lives in Oregon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdeIkn-BNCN/

“Those guys were so cool, laid back, and really made us feel like we were just friends in a room talking,” Ocampo said. “They really took the time to give detailed answers and allowed us (and) their fans to get another perspective on who they are and some more background on their rise to becoming a Grammy-winning band. We had such an overwhelmingly positive response from their biggest fans. That made us so proud of the work we had done. We had set out to conduct a unique and informative interview, and we definitely feel as though we accomplished that and made the most of our time.”

Chemistry

It is in’t a traditional sports podcast in that there aren’t prepared arguments and that a lot of talking points are off the cuff. In preparation for a show, the three friends outline what they are going to present and try to engage with fans internationally. They do so by tweeting out questions beforehand to hear their listeners’ responses and gauge interest level on certain topics.

“We really don’t plan much aside from loose topics before we record the podcast,” McGrady said. “That’s what makes 2nd String Sports so raw and unique. We do talk a lot of sports, but we really just go off on tangents talking about anything. That’s what our fans really seem to love.”

McGrady said the podcasters are “extremely engaged” with listeners through social media.

“Before every show, we tweet out some questions and gather people’s responses to debate while recording,” he said. “We got listeners all over the U.S., and a decent amount in different countries, so it’s super fascinating to be able to get feedback from all types of individuals.”

Looking and Listening Ahead

In the future, the podcast will continue to bring entertaining and informative PDX news along with the potential to branch out and develop more on the multimedia front. The three podcasters also hope to connect with fans from different demographics and try to reach a broader listener base.

“There are a million things I would love to do with the podcast,” Lowe said. “The grandest would be turning 2nd String Sports into a multimedia company and doing things similar to Barstool Sports. As far as immediate things fans can expect, I would say more video content and interviews out of us. I really want to get Jake and Grant down here to L.A. for some content and expand the L.A. and West Coast reach more.”

2nd String Sports offers more of a fan’s perspective on Portland, since listeners feel like they are catching up with old friends rather than sitting in on a lecture. The co-hosts provide fresh and relevant commentary on the biggest Blazers musings, truly a series made by fans for fans.

Favorite Things

“My favorite thing about the podcast has been building something from the ground up that truly means as much to us as it does to the dedicated ones that listen,” McGrady said. “The relationships we’ve made along the way have also been one of my favorite parts of hosting the show as well. From NBA reporters to (Trail Blazers television analyst) Lamar Hurd, from filming an in-studio sit down interview with Grammy-winning Portugal. The Man, to recording in the iHeartRadio studios, all our guests have been ones to remember, and we’re not slowing down anytime soon.”

McGrady said he could never imagine that people in Portland and around the world would care to listen to him and his friends talk sports and have fun.

“We get messages from people that say our podcast genuinely is the highlight of their day or week and that they can’t wait for the next episode to drop,” he said. “It’s something I’ll never take for granted. We’re always a work in progress, and I’m excited to see what we have up our sleeves next.”

You can listen to them on SoundCloud or iTunes and follow them on Twitter here.