PMT DB
PMT DB
Joe Buck, Artie Lange, and Paul Rudd: The Oral History of Joe Buck Live
On June 15, 2009, HBO aired the first episode of Joe Buck Live, a show that was supposed to be Joe Buck's big transition from a corporate play-by-play guy into a cool, late-night personality. Instead, it became one of the most legendary train wrecks in the history of the medium. Big Cat and PFT Commenter brought together the three main pillars of that night—Joe Buck, Artie Lange, and Paul Rudd—to piece together an oral history of how it all went so spectacularly wrong.
Setting the Stage for a Disaster
Joe Buck explained that he took the gig to follow in Bob Costas's footsteps, but he wanted a looser vibe. He personally paid to fly Brett Favre into New York on a private jet just to get a big scoop. Artie Lange, however, remembers the first half of that show differently, blaming the athletes for sucking the energy out of the room before he even stepped on stage.
Artie LangeBrett Favre and Chad Ochocinco were the real reasons 'Joe Buck Live' was a disaster because they were such bores
Now look, the real culprits to me are fucking Chad Ochocinco and Brett Favre. They were the first 45 minutes of an hour show... and they were bores. They're typical like Dennis Rodman type stuff where they think just because they have orange hair... they could sit there and they're young Albert Brooks on a talk show. They're just boring people.
Joe Buck admitted that the pairing with HBO Sports was probably doomed from the jump. He wanted to have fun and be self-deprecating, while the network viewed their sports division as a prestigious, highbrow institution that wasn't ready for a comedian like Artie to hijack the proceedings.
Joe BuckIn hindsight, 'Joe Buck Live' was not a good match for the highbrow DNA of HBO Sports
I think now looking back – it was probably not a good match. I think they hold HBO Sports up... as kind of this cherished thing... journalistically sound... and I just never wanted to kind of do that. I also wanted to have fun. I'm the last guy to take myself seriously.
The Incident Itself
Once the panel started, Artie Lange came out swinging, famously making a joke about Joe's favorite website being "suckingcock.com." Paul Rudd, who was sitting right next to Artie, compared the experience to being a background player in a viral meltdown.
Paul RuddSitting on stage with Artie Lange felt like being a member of Billy Bob Thornton's band
I remember thinking, oh, this is what it feels like to be in [Billy Bob] Thornton's band. Just because I remember about that same month, I think, there was this viral clip of Billy Bob Thornton on a radio show talking about his music... and his bandmates just kind of sitting there and not really saying much and kind of taking it all in.
Joe Buck found himself in a no-win situation. If he fought back, he looked like a jerk; if he sat there, he looked like a victim. He chose the latter, mostly because he realized he was outmatched by a professional comedian who had been drinking Jack Daniels and snorting Vicodin in the green room.
Joe BuckI was doomed to lose any verbal battle against Artie Lange, so I chose to just sit there and take it
If I want to jump down in there with him... First of all, I'm going to lose the battle because it's Artie Lange. I mean, if I start sparring with him verbally, I'm dead. ... I opted to for the most part sit there and take it.
Despite the chaos, Joe Buck still thinks the network's reaction was completely over the top. He pointed out the hypocrisy of a network that built its brand on "Real Sex" and "Taxi Cab Confessions" suddenly acting like Artie Lange was too vulgar for their airwaves.
Joe BuckHBO was hypocritical for policing Artie Lange's content while airing shows like 'Real Sex'
You can't be on HBO and go, well, this is just way too much when you've got like Pornucopia that's on after that. Real Sex, which is, you know, that's about as far as you're going to go on normal cable. Taxi Cab Confessions. We could go on.
The Aftermath and Redemption
The most shocking revelation was that Joe Buck actually called Artie the next day to apologize and tried to book him for the second episode. When HBO executives told him he couldn't even mention Artie's name, Joe nearly walked away from the show entirely.
Joe BuckI threatened to quit my HBO show if they didn't let Artie Lange return for the second episode
I said, I'm either going to have Artie on the show for the second one, or I'm not going to do the show. And I quit. I said, not that this is me walking out of the presidency of the United States... But I said, I'm employed at Fox. I'm doing the World Series and the Super Bowl. You don't know me... But if you think I can't laugh at this... I am not going to go out there and act like it didn't happen.
Looking back, Big Cat suggested that the version of Joe Buck we know today—the one who laughs at himself and leans into the "stuffy douche" allegations—wasn't quite fully formed in 2009. Joe agreed, noting that his various life experiences and vocal cord issues eventually allowed him to stop caring about everyone's approval.
Joe BuckI would handle the Artie Lange incident much better and more authentically today
If you saw Joe Buck 2018 in that same spot, I think I would have rolled with the punches maybe a little bit better on air. I think I would have been different. I think I would have been better with it, and I would have been more equipped... having gone through this vocal thing that I went through, kind of not really caring anymore what people think... I would have handled the moment probably better.
Ultimately, the show was cancelled after just three episodes, but it paved the way for the version of Joe Buck that PMT fans have grown to love. PFT pointed out that without that public execution on HBO, we probably wouldn't have the candid, hilarious Joe Buck who visits the show today.
PFT CommenterThe Artie Lange incident is the reason we have the relationship with Joe Buck that we have today
If it wasn't for that Artie Lange show, I don't think that we would have the conversations that we have with Joe Buck.
Joe still feels a sense of unfinished business with the talk show format, but at least now he knows if he ever gets another crack at it, he’s calling Artie first.
