Two Cincinnati lawyers have a new hobby that’s heating up the Tri-State area. Randy Freking, the retired founder of Freking Myers & Reul, and Jack Greiner, a lawyer at Faruki PLL, host a weekly podcast entitled We Love Our Team. The first episode dropped March 5th and its already been listened to in more than 11 countries and 151 cities. It goes to show the love for the Cincinnati Reds fans truly knows no bounds.
Freking and Greiner’s friendship spans over 40 years, but their love for the Reds has been a lifelong passion for both. They met early in their careers when both were working at the same law firm. They bonded over commonalities in their lives, but their mutual admiration for the Reds cemented the friendship. Although their careers sometimes led them to opposite sides of the court room, the friendship remained. In Fall 2023 while catching up over lunch, Greiner suggested they should create a podcast about the Cincinnati Reds. Freking quickly agreed. They worked out the logistics and a few months later the first episode dropped.
Freking’s love for baseball is well-known. He and his wife, Sue, host a Reds Opening Day Eve party to benefit the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund. It’s an annual event that began as an informal party in the 1980s, but has grown with each passing year. This year’s event was held at Moerlein Lager House and brought in over $56,000 for the charity. He’s also published two books about the Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati’s 150-Year Opening Day History: The Hoopla Started With A Parade in 2018 and @Titanicstruggle: The Best of Marty Brennaman in 2020, which he co-authored with Mike Zilliox.
Freking is no stranger to podcasts. He hosted Freaking Out About Work in 2020-21 before his retirement. His experience allowed him to be ahead of the curve in the podcast game, along with help from Play Audio Agency. Freking is the producer of We Love Our Team even though he plays their kooky intro song, Whole Town’s Batty about Cincinnati, from his iPhone at the beginning of the interview. He could easily cut in the music during editing but enjoys watching the guest’s face as they hear the song. It’s a nostalgic piece of history for many Reds fans. It was created by Larry Vincent in 1961 and frequently played during the Big Red Machine era spanning from 1970-1979 when the Reds dominated the National League. Play Audio helped them seek permission to play it during the podcast.
Greiner brings his share of knowledge to the podcast. With 65 years of Reds fandom to his credit and a genuine passion for Reds baseball, he’s a wealth of information they frequently draw upon. Just like in his career, Greiner generally takes the lead in the interviews. He prepares scripts for podcast guests but admits they usually don’t stick to them and lets the conversations happen organically.
They also have a YouTube channel where they upload video recordings of the podcast. Not even one season under their belts and they’ve already snagged some well-known guests like Cincinnati Mayor, Aftab Pureval, and Amanda Brennaman, wife of former Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman, and legendary broadcast newscaster, Nick Clooney. His episode isn’t videorecorded as Clooney doesn’t “do email or computers.” But at 90 years old he gave them a wonderful interview not to be missed.
Being native Cincinnatians and well-connected in the area, they have a healthy list of connections that allows them to reach out to potential guests. Only a few have declined to be on the show stating they aren’t big baseball fans. Most people are eager to appear on the podcast to share their thoughts and memories of the Reds. “I wish we could have these episodes be two hours long,” said Freking. He and Greiner have to repeatedly cut guests off to keep it to their typical 45 minute podcast.
All of their guests bring a fresh perspective to fan appreciation for their local team. “Every interview, I’ve learned something new about Reds history,” said Freking. “A friend told me the podcast would become dull because the episodes would be the same; talking about Reds history.” But Freking said the opposite is true. Each guest has mentioned a different favorite historical moment and reason why the Reds hold a place in their heart. It’s always educational and entertaining.
Greiner keeps a spreadsheet documenting their past and future guests and episodes. “It’s been pretty 50/50 on finding guests. In many cases, we both had contacts with the same guest,” said Greiner. They have a goal of some big-name guests but opted not to disclose the names. When asked about their favorite guest the answer didn’t come easily. Greiner said, “It’s like asking me to pick my favorite child. I could take pieces from each guest as my favorite.” But when pressed he selected Jim Borgman, cartoonist for the Cincinnati Enquirer from 1976-2008. “He was fun, enthused, had great stories, and talked to us about who he enjoyed drawing,” said Greiner.
John Erardi was Freking’s pick for favorite guest. Erardi was a former sports reporter and columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer and co-author of several books on baseball. “He talked about the relationships sports reporters had with the team. You couldn’t cheer for the teams while in the press box. The reporters could get tossed out if they did. He’s genuinely a great guy and he’s enjoying being a Reds fan now that he’s no longer working for the Enquirer,” said Freking.
As for the future of the podcast, initially this dynamic duo thought they’d record one season and be done. “I can’t imagine life without the podcast now,” said Freking. Greiner quickly agreed. Let’s see what Reds season brings for the podcast and if they can capture those big name guests in future seasons.
We Love our Team is available on Spotify, Apple, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Find them on YouTube at We Love Our Team.
Monttinen is the communications specialist for the Cincinnati Bar Association.