The Opie and Anthony Show Army

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The Opie and Anthony Show Army (collectively referred to as "The Pests") is a collection of Opie & Anthony listeners who take an active approach to the show: opposite of passive listening. They are involved in listener events, promoting the show, promotions, etc. They are commonly known as a collection of "misfits", "computer nerds", and "failures", by the hosts of the show in a light-heartened way, recognizing that they fit right in with the hosts' themselves. Forbes Magazine has recognized "The Pests" as a major source of viral marketing for the show, even jokingly suggesting that Anthony Cumia be nominated as CMO of XM Satellite Radio for his part in encouraging and leading the pests.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 "O&A Army" or "O&A Pests?" 3 Examples of Activities 3.1 Assault on the Media 3.2 The Philips Phile, The Pat Battle of O-Town 3.3 The Pests vs. Howard Stern 3.4 DirecTV Campaign 3.5 Scott Ferrall: Friend Turned Foe 3.6 "Wake Up with Whoopi" 3.7 Dancing with the Stars 4 Opposition to the Pests 5 References 6 External links 6.1 Official Websites 6.2 Official Pest Message Boards

[edit] History

While O&A had a strong fanbase during their early days on WAAF in Boston, there is little, if any, knowledge of activities characteristic of the O&A Army/Pest activities until O&A's arrival to 102.7 WNEW-FM in New York in 1998.

Opie and Anthony's controversial style leads radio personalities to have a strong opinion of both their show and their listeners. Also, O&A appreciate talented radio hosts and despise hosts who steal bits. So when other talk show hosts insult O&A unprovoked or steal bits or material from them, Opie and Anthony call "attacks" on these shows, telling their listeners to call-in and ruin their program.

To combat negative critics and rival radio jocks, O&A turned to their growing fanbase and dubbed their most proactive fans as "The O&A Army." The late 90's saw the rise of the Internet, allowing for much coordination of the O&A Army's efforts and many outlets to "attack." They'd often take over rival chat rooms and message boards and call in to rival radio shows to disrupt their shows. At this time, they did not have any "Generals" or lower-level leaders and took their orders mainly from O&A, but would independently promote the show on their own in a grassroots viral marketing effort, an approach they continue to use today.

It wasn't until O&A's start on XM Satellite Radio in 2004 that the O&A Army took their efforts to another level, assigning "Generals" to further coordinate their efforts and adopting tactics reminiscent of flash mobs.

[edit] "O&A Army" or "O&A Pests?"

While Opie & Anthony's most diehard and proactive fans were known as "The O&A Army" since their "organization" during O&A's days on WNEW-FM, it wasn't until O&A's start on XM Satellite Radio did they become referred to as "pests" for their persistence and willingness to promote and defend the show, sometimes through extreme methods. Because it is extremely common for radio shows with even a modest fanbase to refer to their fans as an "army" regardless of whether they are avid or causal fans, it causes people to look at radio show "armies" with very little seriousness, and sometimes resulting in ridicule by rival jocks. Since O&A's fans' dedication and willingness to promote the show and to annoy "Enemies and former friends of Opie and Anthony" surpass even the most ardent fans of many radio shows, the "O&A Army" name is seemingly being phased out in favor of the "O&A Pests" name to distance O&A's most avid fans from other radio show "armies." Now more commonly referred to as "The O&A Pests" or simply just "The Pests," they are now only referred to as "The O&A Army" on occasion.

[edit] Examples of Activities

[edit] Assault on the Media

An outgrowth of Opie and Anthony's response to the accused fearmongering mentality of today's media in the United States was the creation of the Assualt on the Media campaign. The premise was not to physically "assault" a reporter, but to pester a live broadcast in some way, shape, or form to promote Opie and Anthony. In a general sense, this consisted of large signs with the show's logo, a "Pest" shouting "Opie and Anthony, XM Satellite Radio!", or a show phrase, typically "O&A Party Rock!" The initial AOTMs were what led to the coining of the term "Pest" as it was "the only way to describe them that really fit" as co-host Anthony Cumia put it.

The AOTM campaign "unofficially" began in the summer of 2000 when a young woman by the name of Suzie was kind enough to flash the camera live on NBC's Today Show for Opie and Anthony. Over time, more and more fans were able to insert themselves into live-shots, and in July 2005, O&A officially began an AOTM Contest. Every month, they would provide prizes for the best Assault on the Media.

On May 19, 2005, WCBS-TV reporter Arthur Chi'en was doing a remote when O&A intern Nathaniel Bryan approached his broadcast and held up a poster for the show. Bryan and another man, who was later identified as Crazy Cabbie^[2] who had coincidentally been nearby, made gestures towards the camera and repeated the show's name. When Chi'en finished his introduction, he promptly turned around and loudly asked Bryan, "What the fuck is your problem, man?" Chi'en may have thought that his director at the station had already cut him off and had started playing his recorded report, but this was not the case, and the audio went out live over the air. Chi'en apologized following the report, but was fired by the station later that day[17], as WCBS-TV has a zero-tolerance policy for obscenity. The sentence that got Chi'en fired became a popular saying on the show, and is repeated frequently, usually with a juvenile emphasis on the word "man." Chi'en resurfaced on WPIX-TV in August 2005 and remained a field reporter^[3].

On the morning of December 6, 2005, a fan apparently went too far. Attempting an AOTM, an O&A fan sounded an air horn during an NYC TV station's live news remote in New Jersey. Ocean Township police questioned the man, whom they would not identify, but no charges were filed; however the man faces a possible assault charge if the WABC-TV reporter, Anthony Johnson, suffered critical hearing damage.

Following the harassment, Acting Governor Richard J. Codey issued the following statement: "Encouraging fans to intervene in live news shots is inappropriate and dangerous. Today a fan sounded an air horn in a reporter's ear and this action may result in permanent hearing damage for the reporter who was harassed. Reporters are professionals who provide a great service to the public by delivering news. They should be treated with respect and not antagonized as part of a radio show gag. I won't tolerate anything less in our state. The person who committed this act should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I wish Mr. Johnson a speedy and healthy recovery."

Regardless, this incident (along with a personal request from WABC reporter Bill Evans, who is said to have feared for his safety and the safety of his family should a fan "go too far") led to O&A officially ending the AOTM contest.

[edit] The Philips Phile, The Pat Battle of O-Town

One of the most overwhelmingly successful attacks was on Jim Philips of The Philips Phile in July of 2005. Philips attempted to steal and take credit for the Assault on the Media bit and boastfully claimed he had "the #1 talk show on XM." O&A heard of this and called for an attack on this show. For days, the phonelines to Philips' show were jammed and the flow of his show was noticeably disturbed. Talk of O&A dominated Philips' show for several days as he brazely attempted to fire back, poking fun at O&A's names and appearances. Philips even interviewed a fake XM executive named "Eric Foinster" to further his claims of success on XM and the phony Mr. Foinster feigned a homosexual attraction to "Mr. Cumia" toward the end of the interview. Fans of O&A interpreted Philips' response as so arrogant that it motivated them to continue the attack.

After many days of constant Pests calls, Philips started taking fewer calls, then began quizzing all callers before allowing them to speak, claiming his fans were "smarter" than O&A's fans. The quizzing backfired on him, since the questions he asked were so difficult that no one, Philips fan or O&A fan alike, could answer them. Philips threatened legal action, stating "My lawyers are better than yours." This did not stop the attack, so eventually Philips stopped taking calls completely, ceased mentioning "Mr. Hughes" and "Mr. Cumia" entirely, and stopped claiming his show was the most successful talk show on XM, possibly under request by his bosses to cease his boasting so the attack would stop instead of getting himself and the company involved in a lengthy and costly legal battle.

Eventually, O&A stopped mentioning Philips and the attack ceased shortly thereafter. Several weeks later, O&A fans raised enough money to purchase a billboard on his projected route to and from his radio station that read, "Mr. Philips, The Pests Win. You Lose. Good Day, Sir! - The Opie and Anthony Army, Commemorating the Pat Battle of O-Town."^[4]

[edit] The Pests vs. Howard Stern

A rivalry had been quietly building between O&A and Howard Stern after Stern placed a gag order on O&A in 2000, but it rose to the top after O&A's return to radio in 2004 when their move to XM Satellite Radio meant they were no longer subject to Stern's gag order.

On November 18, 2004, shortly after Stern announced his move to Sirius Satellite Radio, Stern organized a rally in Union Square, New York City to give away free Sirius units to his fans. O&A sent a contigency of Pests holding large O&A signs to infiltrate the crowd.^[5]

A year later on November 17, 2005, the Pests coordinated an attack on Stern's appearance on David Letterman, holding up large O&A signs and banners and shouting O&A chants upon Stern's arrival.^[6]

On December 16, 2005 the Pests organized for 'The Million Pest March' to "protest" Howard Stern's rally that celebrated his final day on terrestrial radio. They arrived holding large Opie & Anthony signs but were denied entry to the bordered-off rally area by the NYPD on Stern's orders. A handful of Pests did make it through, but were promptly removed from the crowd upon revealing their O&A signs and banners.^[7]

Denied access to the rally, The Pests marched the streets surrounding the rally, chanting O&A references and pestering the passing Stern fans and the smaller crowd that had gathered in front of the CBS Radio building. They then followed Howard's bus at the end of the rally to the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, where Howard was holding a lunch for a small group of his fans. The Pests continued to march outside the Hard Rock Cafe, where Stern fans had congregated in hopes of getting into the free lunch. Still undeterred by the very hostile Stern fans that outnumbered them all day, The Pests performed a "funeral dirge" for Howard's career, carrying a makeshift coffin made of cardboard through the extremely rabid Stern crowd. ^[8]

On January 9, 2006 'war' was officially declared by the boys. The show was opened with a live feed of rival Howard Stern's first show on Sirius Satellite Radio. To many fans, this is considered the final showdown between the two shows as they duke it out in the realm of satellite radio. Since then fans of both sides have been fighting informal battles by camping outside the Sirius building in New York or on various internet message boards, blogs, and chat rooms.

On March 14, 2006 Stern was arriving for a Letterman appearance when The Pests arrived. They did exactly what their name implies, shouting "O&A Party Rock!" and chasing after Howard's limo.^[9]

[edit] DirecTV Campaign

As part of XM's deal with DirecTV, many XM channels are simulcast on DirecTV channels, including Opie and Anthony's High Voltage Channel 202. On April 17, 2006, Opie and Anthony's High Voltage channel was removed from DirecTV's lineup. DirecTV claimed the reason for removing High Voltage from their lineup was customer feedback that favored more music channels over talk and sports channels. A major campaign was organized, consisting of phone calls, e-mails, voice mails, and other such petitions to get the show back on the lineup. In less than one week, the show had reappeared. ^[10]

[edit] Scott Ferrall: Friend Turned Foe

Scott Ferrall was a friend of Opie & Anthony at WNEW. He was fired for supporting them after Sex For Sam. In January 2006, Ferrall's website was changed to say that Howard Stern's new show on Sirius Satellite Radio was incredible, and that he would kick O&A's ass in the long run. When questioned about it, Ferrall stated that one of the other people that update his site did that, and he has no control over it. This entry was soon removed from the site. However, in February 2006 Ferrall was on Stern's show promoting his show on Howard 101 from 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Eastern. "The Pests" soon took over Ferrall's show after receiving reports of him badmouthing Opie and Anthony, and he did his last Sirius show on 2/17/06, indicating that he was very busy with other projects, but promised to be back on Sirius soon. On March 28, 2006 Ferrall was hired to fill the 8-12 spot on Howard 101.^[11]

[edit] "Wake Up with Whoopi"

On July 31 2006, Whoopi Goldberg's new radio show "Wake up with Whoopi" debuted on KTU-FM in New York opposite O&A's show. The Pests were called in to "attack" Whoopi's show. The attack wasn't prompted by anything Whoopi had said about them, but O&A have expressed disgust in the recent trend of stations hiring celebrities to host shows in a form of "radio stunt casting" rather than hiring experienced radio personalities. O&A have also stated that the general public sees radio as an "easy job," so they targeted her show to prove to newcomer Whoopi just how hard hosting a radio talk show is.

At least four Pest calls went over the air, and Whoopi vowed that they will "screen [calls] better." She also mentioned she was a good friend of "Howard [Stern]" and that "those other guys aren't worth the dust he [Howard] walks on." On August 3, 2006 Whoopi *surprised* the O and A crew with a drop-in visit, which earned her respect from the show and at least a temporary end to the pest onslaught.^[12]

[edit] Dancing with the Stars

Jerry Springer called in to the Opie and Anthony show to promote the show Dancing with the Stars, of which he was one of the celebrity contestants. During the interview, Opie and Anthony offered to help him win by ordering the Pests to vote for him. Jerry declined the help but stated he would thank O&A on the show should he win, not expecting he would actually win. O&A went ahead and charged the Pests with voting for Jerry anyway.

Despite being the worst dancer of the show and being close to elimination every week, Jerry inexplicably managed to survive on the show as better dancers were eliminated instead, much to the shock and dismay of most Dancing with the Stars viewers. But despite the Pests' efforts, Jerry was finally eliminated. Some believe that ABC arranged Jerry to be eliminated because they couldn't allow the worst dancer on the show to win. Others rationalize Jerry's elimination, taking into consideration contestant Sara Evans' departure from the show resulting in the combination of the two weeks' scores and votes, and consistent dancer Joey Lawrence's shocking appearance in the show's "bottom two" spelled doom for Jerry's tenure on the show.

The New York Daily News' Richard Huff wrote:

"Jerry Springer's run on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" ended this week. He lasted this long thanks to Opie & Anthony listeners, who were urged to vote for the not-so-fleet-footed talk show host.

Now we can only hope he uses that experience to teach some of the nearly nude shlubs on his daytime show how to move more gracefully while fighting."^[13]

[edit] Opposition to the Pests

While O&A’s most proactive fans are called “Pests,” their entire audience should not be referred to as such. The Pests may be the most vocal and visible fans, but a great percentage of O&A’s fans are passive, casual listeners and they are either neutral to the Pests’ actions or they admire the Pests' actions but do not actively participate.

While most Pest opposition comes from fans of rival radio shows, there are some O&A fans who detest and oppose the Pests and their actions. Some believe that O&A’s show will meet yet another unfortunate demise should the Pests’ antics “go too far,” as in the instance of the aforementioned Assault on the Media’s “Airhorn Incident” in which O&A were admittedly close to being fired yet again. Some believe that something as trivial as a radio show is not worthy of such extreme fandom. Some are aggravated that O&A give too much attention to the Pests and resent O&A for not somehow catering more to the casual listeners and therefore harbor personal feelings of betrayal or abandonment. Some may even possess personal grudges against individual Pests and seek to disrupt and end Pest activities to spite those individual Pests.

Whatever their reasons, their opposition does not seem to be deterring the Pests from continuing their efforts, nor does it seem to be dissuading O&A from approving the Pests’ actions. O&A recognize the interactivity of the Pests' activities is yet another facet of their extremely interactive show, giving their most loyal and avid fans a level of togetherness and camaraderie rarely seen among radio show fanbases and allowing casual listeners who wish to be involved in the show's events and achieving that camaraderie an outlet for doing so.

[edit] References

1. ^ Panero Pumps Up Volume On XM Marketing Drive from Forbes
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ [2]
4. ^ [3] [4] [5]
5. ^ [6] [7]
6. ^ [8]
7. ^ [9]
8. ^ [10]
9. ^ [11]
10. ^ [12]
11. ^ [13]
12. ^ [14] [15]
13. ^ [16]

[edit] External links

[edit] Official Websites

• OpieandAnthony.com Opie and Anthony's official website.
• Eatabullet.com Jim Norton's Official website.
• FoundryMusic.com Producer Steve "Steve Carr" Carlesi's website.

[edit] Official Pest Message Boards

• FullBlownAids.com A Pest message board, formed to meet the demands of each and every "attack."
• Wackbag.com An Unofficial Opie & Anthony Message Board and was originally the Pest Message Board. It still conducts Pest activities but is also friendly to casual O&A listeners. It is also known for its photoshopping threads.
• OpieAnthony.net Home of the old school WNEW O&A Fans.
• The Pests' Offical Myspace The home of the O&A Pests on Myspace.com.