NPR nerds and news geeks of all ages and persuasions packed Tampa’s Straz Center Thursday night for a chance to see the rock stars behind National Public Radio’s popular weekend quiz show, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Buffered by the throngs filing through the lobby in an electrified yet orderly fashion, I felt like I was packed into a can of really smart sardines. And it was awesome!
“This audience is so psyched!” said WUSF’s Weekend Edition host Carson Cooper over the crowd’s cheers during his welcoming remarks. He informed us that although we may have been picked last at P.E., we were now the “cool kids,” part of Wait Wait’s more than 3.2 million weekly listeners. We were also, he pointed out, “way better-looking than that Prairie Home Companion crowd.” (more cheers)
This article appears in Nov 17-23, 2011.