Sports radio’s Dan McDowell gained notoriety across DFW as a longtime voice on 96.7/1310 “The Ticket.” In 2023, the quick-witted broadcaster left the airwaves to write his own ticket — a sports, news and entertainment podcast with thousands of paying subscribers known as “The Dumb Zone.” The move, made with his former “Ticket” co-host Jake Kemp, has afforded Dan the opportunity to continue his personal brand of sports hot takes and humor while also paying the rent for “The Dragon Den,” the show’s makeshift studio above his Southlake garage. We caught up with McDowell for a few questions in between shows.
AS A KID… I would call into a sports radio station and record it on cassette tape. Back then, Pete Franklin in Cleveland was my show that I would listen to every night. I'd also watch baseball games and record my own play-by-play, as that was the job I yearned for. My goal was to become a radio play-by-play voice of a Major League Baseball team and do that for 40 years or so.
BEFORE I MADE IT TO DALLAS… I broadcasted high school games, was a morning DJ, and a producer and a weekend host at several stations across Ohio. At my last stint as an afternoon show host in Dayton, they told me to avoid talking about sports, as sports talk would never be something that could get good ratings, according to the boss. So it was, perhaps, odd that I would next be hired at The Ticket in Dallas in 1999.
WHEN IT CAME TO LEAVING RADIO… the pay cut was my number one concern and the only thing giving me pause before making the move. I remembered Muhammed Ali once said, “My principles are more important than the money.” As it turns out, the bank wouldn’t accept principles as a payment for my mortgage. Ali didn’t have a quote about that.
LAUNCHING A PODCAST… was certainly harder than I thought. Mostly the technical stuff that goes into getting the show out to the masses was something that I had to try and figure out. I never could do it, though, so we hired our old radio producer, Blake Jones, to handle all of it. Everybody should have their own Blake. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.
AS A PODCASTER, I’VE BEEN SURPRISED BY… the cooperation amongst competitors. In radio, we were told other stations were the enemy, and we were encouraged to not publicly fraternize with them. In this industry, we’ve had many “competitors” reach out to try to help.
MY FAVORITE GUEST SO FAR… has been Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey. We met him through his father-in-law, who is a listener. He brought him into my home studio, which is above my garage, and later to our new Dallas studio. Now we have him on weekly during football season.
AS MY OWN BOSS, I’M NOT SURE… what kind of punishment to levy if I don’t do what I’m supposed to do. I clearly have an issue with authority.
IN LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE, I’D LIKE TO… do some more public events this year that we livestream. Maybe we will move to Los Angeles to follow Luka. Can we talk about that trade? Just a devastating blow to sports in Dallas-Fort Worth. I was living in Cleveland when the Browns announced they were moving to Baltimore, and this feels just as bad.
THE BIGGEST THING I MISS ABOUT RADIO IS… being with those guys on “The Ticket” every day. I still talk to current hosts mostly by text, but the occasional phone call as well.
LETTING PEOPLE SEE INSIDE THE ‘DRAGON DEN’... has been great because it forces me to keep things cleaned up. All the cars in the driveway also give my neighbors the illusion that I have a lot of friends.