Howard Stern rips on D&D on his radio show

[ashockney]

Howard Stern talks up D&D...

...so does anyone on the boards listen to Howard Stern? The last two days he's been talking all about Dungeons and Dragons (probably in correlation to LOTR release, but I'm not sure). They have spent most of their time making fun of it (and it's players) up to now. They've not had a D&D expert on to explain yet, but they have had at least one person who explained how their DM forced them to be held by two of the other characters while he shoved a pool cue up his rectum. They all thought that was creepy and funny. It's unclear whether the story was even true, as the caller immediately requested money from Howard. Robin spends time in the background saying, "I still don't understand it...how do you play it...how do you win?" They seem to think that "guys gather in someone's basement" and then the DM tells you what to do, and you have to do it. They also like making fun of the different dice. (d12 especially) This morning they made several references to, "you rolled a 7, sorry, but that means you're due for a 'rear screwing' (in reference to the caller above).

Thoughts?

Should the gaming community respond or let it go?

Who would be best to respond and how?

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

Simple solution... Catch Howard in a back alley with a D12 and a pool cue.

 

[Nightfall]

Think we need a mod! We have a double posting in progress!

 

[Dr. Niles Crane]

Ryan Dancey should give him a call.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

Ryan Dancey should give him a call.

Michigan? I thought you lived in Seattle.

 

[Nightfall]

Maybe he decided to take Daphne and run.

 

[Fast Learner]

And I'd wager that there are WAY more people out there who are not as aware of Howard Stern's irrelevance as many people here seem to believe.

He doesn't get the ratings he does (i.e. the millions of people that listen to him) if it's all just people dialing him in to gawk at his being irrelevant to society anymore...

I think you may not understand his audience, though. Yes, there are people who listen who honestly think that Howard is God and is the most clever, intelligent, amusing man on the planet.

Those people already disliked D&D because it's for geeks.

The rest of his audience -- the vast bulk of his audience, all imo of course -- listen to Howard because it's like watching a train wreck. It's fascinating in its repulsiveness. They don't respect his opinion in any way: they're entertained by him intentionally playing the fool.

Those people will assume that there must be something positive about D&D if Howard is carping on it. Seriously.

That's my take, anyway, and why I don't think Howard saying bad things about D&D changed the minds of more than maybe a few dozen people, with more than half of them now thinking of D&D in a more positive light.

 

[shilsen]

Just in case it wasn't clear, my point is that it doesn't matter whether YOU care about Howard Stern's opinions -
Hundreds of thousands of people DO, whether we like to admit it or not.

I think the point of some other people's posts on this thread is that not only do they really not care about Howard Stern's opinions, they also don't care if there are hundreds of thousands who do. Perfectly acceptable stance to take.

 

[Kanegrundar]

I'd say ignore it. I could care less about what that moron thinks, personally. They'd only make fun of anyone writing or calling in to try and explain all the things that they are getting wrong about the game.

On a related note, I was watching ESPNews today and In the Round (or something like it, I don't like the show that much but it comes on before Kornhieser and Wilbon) and one of the sports writers went on a rant about people waiting in lines to watch Return of the King. He included those that watch Star Wars and Star Trek as well and referred to them as sick geeks that have lost all touch on reality. It got under my skin for a minute until I realized that he's a man that gets paid to write theories about sports teams, like spending all his time obsessing about sports isn't geeky and out of touch with reality...

That's the way I'll take Stern's comments. He doesn't get it or want to get it since he'll simply make more of his listeners laugh by making fun of it.

Kane

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

Heh, good ol Howard.

Its pretty funny because Howards stern is one of the biggest geeks on the planet. He gushes about comics and various SciFi Tv shows on a regular basis. I would chalk it up to good natured (Howard Stern style) fun and would even be willing to bet that Howard understands a little more about the game than he is letting on.

Dirge