MarksFriggin.com
 It's impossible to measure true fandom. The Web is rife with obsessed fans. But on the spectrum of fandom, few measure up to the devotion displayed by Mark Mercer.
Mark's a super fan of Howard Stern. While that's not unique in and of itself, Mr. Mercer takes his love of the Stern show to a higher ground. His detailed daily recaps of the show cover the minutiae for Stern fans who can't listen to the entire 5 hour show every day. No stripper, joke, or bodily function passes through the studio without remark—and Mark's been typing up his recaps on the Web for over 10 years. Stern is a polarizing figure, but even if you don't care for Howard's humor, you should appreciate Mark's dedication to the show that has taken over his life. We chatted with Mark in the evening, long after his day had started before sunrise—as it does each and every weekday morning when he flips on his radio... Hey Mark, walk us through your daily routine—what do you do to bring Stern fans recaps day in, day out? I get up at 5:20 a.m., shower, and start up the Sirius radio. I have it connected to an FM transmitter so I can tune in on any regular radio in the house. I sit on my couch with my laptop by about 5:50 a.m. and open up the programs I use every morning. As soon as the show starts, I'm typing away like a mad man. I'll do spell checks and a little bit of editing during the commercial breaks. Grab some food, hit the bathroom, stuff like that. As soon as the show ends, I've pretty much completed my editing and I have the files uploaded to my site within about 5 minutes of the show ending. What inspired you to start recapping the show? I had created a site that featured some audio clips and games based on the Stern show back in '96. That just wasn't enough, so I just started throwing in a couple of sentences to let the fans know what happened on the show that day. I'm not even sure exactly what inspired me to do it other than just having nothing better to do while at my job. When did you start listening to the show? In 1988, I just ran across the show accidentally while flipping through the stations. And you've listened religiously since then? Yes, I started as a casual listener but it wasn't long before I had to hear every second of every show. Can you explain what it is about the show that you love? At this point, it's almost like I feel closer to them than my own family. I spend more time listening to the show than I do with anyone else. I love the fact that they make me laugh every single day. I also love hearing about their lives. There's never a moment that I even consider turning off the radio, and that's not just because I have to write about it. I never get bored. I get sick of everything eventually, but not the Stern show. I've been listening for almost 20 years now and I don't want it to end. It's one thing to be an avid listener and a super fan, but what's inspired you to do daily recaps on the Web for over 10 years? The feedback from the fans is what has kept me going. I get such positive feedback. So when you first started the site, how many visitors did you have per day? Hmm...good question. I can't remember the numbers back then but it couldn't have been more than a couple hundred people a week. How many visitors do you get nowadays? These days it's between 10-15,000 people a day. Last year around this time it was up to around 20,000 a day. It's actually dropped off over the past year. That's odd. What's the reason? Fans not listening? I think that's part of it. I also think that a lot of hard core fans who have to know all the details of the show just went out and bought Sirius so they don't have to visit my site as often. That's what I like to believe, anyway. Do you enjoy the show more or less since the move to Sirius? I'd have to say more. I know some people don't like it now that Howard doesn't have the FCC pressure on him but I think that's made the show much more free flowing. No worries about the dump button being hit or anything like that. Do Stern staffers still use your site as a resource for historical info on the show? Yeah, from what I've been told, the guys at Howard TV still use it and so do the guys in the offices there at the Stern show. I've been told they can find stuff faster using my site than they can in their own logs. Does that make you proud? Yes, and it shocks me because I never expected anything like that. I had no idea anyone would ever be searching through something I wrote for research on the Stern show. Have they ever asked you to be on the air as a guest or for a bit? Nah, not on the Stern show. I've been on the Superfan Roundtable a couple of times though. I'm not much of a personality. And i don't mind if they don't want me on the show. Where would you be without the Web? Oh wow, I'd probably still be at my car dealership job shoved in some hole of an office doing warranty claims. The Web was made for dedicated souls like you... Yeah, made for me for sure. I'm very lucky to have fallen into all of this stuff. We're lucky to have fans with dedication like you! Thanks Mark!
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