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2008-11-20  COLUMNISTS | Foxworthy, Smoltz pull off Verizon love fest
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| | | Jeff Foxworthy, emcee Ernie Johnson Jr. and John Smoltz were onstage for most of the two-and-a-half hour show. Meanwhile, Smoltz got to show off his new rug-and-visor ensemble. (click for larger version) | |
November 17, 2008
It was a little airish, as we like to say down South when there is a chill in the air, but the warmth was coming from the stage as two good friends opened a window on their enduring friendship to an enthusiastic audience.
Blue collar comedian Jeff Foxworthy and hard-throwing Brave John Smoltz teamed up for the first, and possibly the last time for a night of comedy Nov. 9 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park and despite the chilly weather the reception was warmer.
It was billed as an evening of comedy, and for the most part it was with Foxworthy doing most of the heavy lifting. But it was also an evening first to watch two men who are at the top of their professions with national reputations who seem effortlessly combine success and fame with family and small-town values.
They share a strong Christian faith, a love for their families, an aversion to the spotlight off-stage and pretty good sense of humor. Now they were here to raise some money for the John Smoltz Foundation and did a good job, raising $100,000.
As concerts go, Fox and Smoltzy were playing a home game, but so what. The people wanted an inside look at these two disparate friends, and that is what they got. With FoxSouth and Turner sports broadcaster Ernie Johnson Jr. acting as emcee, the audience got to see two pros who have genuine respect for each other.
They talked about how they met and traded a few gentle barbs, but then came Jeff & John's Home Movie. It was a spoof of the male competitiveness in which in a series of vignettes the two competed in everything from fishing to Scrabble.
Predictably, Smoltz was always thwarted in besting the laid-back athleticism of Foxworthy. The most memorable moment came when the two squared off for some one-on-one basketball and Smoltz came out in the basketball warm-up ensemble he wore in the eighth grade. That showed true dedication to the comedic arts.
Forsyth County's favorite redneck was eventually handed the stage and gave the audience over an hour of vintage material, ranging from marriage to suffering in-laws. The audience loved it, and the love fest ended in an encore of zingers ending in ". . . might be a redneck."
It was an evening where the youngest to the oldest enjoyed it, and nobody was embarrassed. What I liked was these two guys showed us it is hip to be square.
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