Joe is the amazing Producer for The Put it in the Books Show!
Farachie has been bugging me to write a bio for Pop Culture Pros. While I love writing, yet haven’t done so for years; the thought of navel-gazing in a bio wasn’t thrilling to me. However, prompted by my suggestion that I might pick up writing for another site, he reiterated my duty as a member of PCP to write it, so here goes.
I lived in NY for my first 8 years and grew up with 5 older sisters and my parents. I moved to CA and spent 5 years there, where I got my first taste of MLB during the Yankees incredible run of the mid-70s. Remember cheering for Reggie, he was such an icon.
I moved back to NY when I was 13 after my father passed way too young at 60. So I lived with my mother and three of my older sisters for the next 8 years, with no sports influence at all. I became a fan of horror movies since my sisters parked on the side of the road with me in the backseat and we watched (but couldn’t hear) When a Stranger Calls in 1979.
I started following New York sports in my 20s, and since I lived in Queens most of my life, I fell into the Mets/Jets quagmire. It’s been an interesting 30years of fandom, with very few, but some blinding (86 Mets), bright spots. It seems to be the lot in (sports) life for Met/Jet fans to be long-suffering.
I moved to Florida in 2000, and then became a fervent supporter of my teams in this enemy territory. Went to a few Dolphin/Jet games wearing Jet face paint with my best friend. It made me dig in more and become a bigger Mets fan watching the fickle Marlin fan base. I never had much interest in basketball/hockey.
So here I am a rabid NY sports fan living in Florida, still watching my teams struggle year after year. 2015 was tantalizingly close, but ultimately another Met letdown. Excited for the Mets future with the kids (Alonso, McNeil, DeGrom, even Thor). But the Jets look as lost as ever as we race to the bottom of the league with the Dolphins and Bengals.
I became a cinephile somewhere in the 80s during the advent of VHS. Continues to this day, love watching horror movies with my three amazing kids, Joey, Jessie, and Alyssa; watching everything else with my beautiful wife of 31 years Kathleen.
Enjoyed my first year producing a podcast with the cast of the Put it in the Books Show! And excited about or plans for the future and trying different innovations to make it a bigger success. Proud to accept the moniker “Producer Joe” and look forward to contributing to even more PCP efforts (Top Ten Lists, Pro Football Picks, and hopefully more to come.)
Now leave me alone about the bio Farachie and let’s focus on movies and sports already!