Ryan Spear

Four Years of Rants and Raves: Taking a Look at a Part of the Military Most People Rarely Think Of, and One Man's Ups and Downs in the Service. Ryan Spear

For many sports fans, sporting events set milestones in a person's life. Ryan Spear used these as a basis for his work as a radio broadcaster while stationed in the Air Force at Lajes Field in the Azores, located on a Portuguese-owned island in the middle of the Atlantic. In Four Years of Rants and Raves, Spear compiles four years of monologues delivered over Armed Forces Radio Station as part of one of the first sports talk shows on the network. Spear presented the monologues, often referred to as "rants," at the end of each show as a conversation with the radio listeners. Spear's rants include the common themes of Major League Baseball, the Yankees, professional and college football, basketball, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Spear also offers his thoughts on the world of pop culture, movies and movie stars, military experiences, and life's nuances. With work beginning in mid-January 2003, this collection of monologues and experiences provides a unique and often humorous look at four years of Spear's perspective on sports and life.