The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FOXWORTHY GEARING UP FOR FOX SHOWS, SUPER BOWL
Jeff Foxworthy and his buddy Larry the Cable Guy will take the stage at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre for two shows on April 29 and tickets are on sale now. (See foxtheatre.org.) The guys’ performances, at 5 and 8 p.m., are part of the “We’ve Been Thinking” tour, where they explore peculiarities of the day through their unique Southern lens.
“I just kind of talk about what’s going on in my life at one particular moment,” Foxworthy told us. “I always view the audience as friends, so I always feel like I’m out there talking to my friends.”
A couple of days before our planned interview last week, the Boston Globe published a column titled “It’s hard to get pumped up about a Super Bowl against … Atlanta.” It doesn’t blast Atlanta or its fans but is rather dismissive: “When it comes to Atlanta and its sports fans, we feel nothing. Maybe a little pity.”
Knowing Foxworthy is a fan of not only the Atlanta Braves (he’s close friends with longtime pitcher John Smoltz) but also the Falcons, we wondered what his reaction might be.
“Maybe they’re just jealous ’cause the sun shines here a lot more than it does there,” he said with a chuckle.
But Foxworthy isn’t one to return fire. The metro Atlanta resident isn’t just hilarious but is also a great guy: He’s involved with organizations including Charity Water and the Duke Children’s Hospital, and every week he leads a Bible study at a downtown Atlanta homeless shelter.
So when we asked him for his take on Boston’s slight, he responded only with his love for Atlanta.
“I love this city. Part of what makes Atlanta unique is you walk down the street and people smile at you, people wave at you,” he said. “There’s an optimism here that you miss in a lot of big cities.”
Foxworthy enjoys watching Falcons games, but it’s usually from his recliner. When he comes to the Georgia Dome, he ends up spending more time posing for photos or signing autographs than watching the game. Not that he minds.
“I like people,” he said. “People will come up in the airport and say, ‘I hate to bother you. I know you hate this.’ No, I don’t! You allow me to do something for a living that I love to do. I still get excited about it.”
The “We’ve Been Thinking” tour is sponsored by RFD-TV.
“Their values match up so well with RFD-TV’s goals as we both strive to provide family-oriented entertainment from a rural perspective,” founder and CEO Patrick Gottsch said in a statement. “We look forward to using this opportunity to work with our cable partners in each of these cities to expand rural programming in our continuing effort to reconnect city with country again. Humor is a great way to do that.”
Added Larry the Cable Guy: “I love RFD-TV and have watched it long before Patrick lost a lot of money to me at golf. To have them sponsor our show means a lot and I hope that through our shows we can help spread the word that RFDTV is America’s greatest cheerleader. Git-R-Done!”