By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Blame his parents.
If you find yourself ready to toss your radio – or phone – out the window at one of his sports takes – well, just blame his parents.
“My parents always had the radio on in the car,” said Mo Egger, the ’95 grad of Scott High School, “And I fell in love with all of it – music, talk and sports.”
Mo Egger is the premier sports-voice in local radio these days.
His afternoon show airs 3-6 pm on iHeart Radio’s ESPN 1530 (AM).
But there’s more – much more to Egger’s work-day.
He handles the hosting chores for the University of Cincinnati football and basketball games on sister-station, 700-AM, WLW Radio.
And, this jack-of-all radio trades has been known to fill in doing basketball play-by-play for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, when Dan Hoard – the regular play-by-player — may have a conflict calling the Bengals on radio.
“I listened to Bob Trumpy and Cris Collinsworth back in the day,” he said, “And it just seemed like they were having so much fun. I wanted to give it a shot.”
There was another reason.
“Yeah, I thought radio would be really easy to study in college,” the ’99 University of Dayton grad said.
“Radio work was first,” he admits, “but soon it became a want for sports radio. Be it play-by-play or not.”
Mo Egger got the best of both worlds – but it was a rocky start.
“Wow, I sure do remember my very first on-air experience,” he told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “I was filling in doing the Extra Inning radio show.”
That show normally follows Cincinnati Reds baseball games – and after night games runs till midnight on 700-AM, WLW, The Home of the Reds.
“I came on the air, mentioned the Reds lost the game – I think it was in 2002; maybe 2003 – and then I locked up.”
He admits, well, he was terrified.
“Yeah,” he said, “and it was a while before I was allowed back on,” he cracked.
Next spring will be 25 years Mo Egger will be employed by iHeart Radio – in the same city – which, in itself is a major coup in the ever-changing radio business.
“I was a 19-year-old Board Operator for Mike McConnell when I interned at the station,” he remembers. “At the time there were some giants broadcasting in town like Jim Scott, McConnell, Bill Cunningham, Gary Burbank, Trumpy and later Collinsworth. You watch them, see what they do, and how they do it.”
There’s some real good advice Egger passes along to would-be radio junkies yearning for a spot behind a microphone.
“Identify people doing things that you’d want to do,” he said. “Study, understand that you’ll make mistakes.”
But the biggest advice he gives is – “Do as much as you can.
“List all the things you do and make sure there are plenty of commas on that list.”
Mo Egger’s list certainly has plenty of those commas.
But remember, don’t be upset at what he says on the radio – it’s not his fault. Just blame his parents.