Nov. 15, 2000

By Meri-Jo Borzilleri
The Gazette

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - By day, Scotty McKay is an Air Force cadet and football player. But once a week, on Wednesdays, a transformation occurs. McKay, at 5-foot-8 the smallest Falcon starter, looms large as host of a popular show on the academy's student-run radio station, KAFA.

From 9:30-11 p.m., McKay and cadet Dan Macsay are volunteer hosts of the Miggedy Mac Show, full of music, talk and call-ins.

The 104.3 FM show broadcast from the academy's Vandenberg Hall, has a captive audience: cadets studying in their rooms.

The signal doesn't go far - you have to be on base to hear it - but the show has become a favorite among athletes who tune in to hear music, along with who will win the dubious "Geek of the Week'' honor, and other staples such as Big David Hildebrand's Texas country song of the week, named in honor of the football team's 6-3, 290-pound resident jokester.

"Outside of football, it's the most fun I have all week,'' said McKay, a second-year starter at halfback.

That's not surprising. In the tiny studio, McKay and others can stop being cadets and be more like college students. For a while.

They wear sweats and T-shirts instead of uniforms. Comfy sandals or sneakers instead of shoes. They work in a studio that would never pass inspection.

It's outfitted with a busted light cover, hanging microphones and the requisite irreverent wall-hangings: a Wendy's double-cheeseburger poster with the words "Bite Me'', Rolling Stone magazine covers, Kurt Cobain, a glowering Jim Morrison - American Poet poster, and tabloid front pages screaming "Grim Reaper Appears in Detroit Hospital,'' and "Did Hillary give Bill a Black Eye?''

On this night, McKay breezes in to take over from the previous D.J., who commented that one song he played, "Smoke Some Weed,'' regrettably "really had some F-bombs in there.''

Is there trouble when profanity - or for that matter, a song about drugs - gets broadcast at a military academy? McKay says no.

"There's really no one that censors it,'' McKay says. "But it's no big deal.''

No problem either when cornerback Tony Metters' Color Me Bad CD is queued up for "I Want to Sex You Up.''

But most of the lineup is surprisingly tame and heavy on classics: Elton John's "Rocket Man.'' Cat Stevens' "Another Saturday Night.'' Prince's "When Doves Cry.''

McKay starts off with "American Pie.'' By that time, tight end Chris Jessop, who is manning the phone, reports that two "Geek of the Week'' nominations are in.

It's the show's most popular segment. Jessop fields nominations from callers wanting to take someone to task. Listeners then call in to vote.

What do you get for winning Geek of the Week?

"Ridicule,'' someone answers.

Kicking coach Jeff Hays' name is mentioned for handing out M&M's for good deeds. Jessop's roommate, Barry Mattson, is nominated, but his geeky deed is too humiliating to mention. Those in-the-know flood the phone line. Mattson wins.

By now, there are about seven people crammed in the studio, squeezing between the board, a table, a sofa and a couple of chairs. Throughout the show, a steady stream of mostly football players drift in and out. Someone zips through the door on a scooter and back out again.

"It's almost like an athletes' comedy show,'' says quarterback Mike Thiessen, who tries to listen every week. "They play good music. That's part of it. It's hilarious. A lot of inside jokes.''

The studio is a hangout, where cadets visit for some rare idle time. But most don't stay long. There's homework to do, and 6 a.m. reveille to dread.

Jessop gets to end the show with a mellow tune, The Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me.''

Most everyone has left and the party's over. When they wake up, they'll be cadets again. Then again, it's only six more days until Wednesday.