If you’ve spent any time driving through Columbus with the radio tuned to 97.1 The Fan, you know the voice. For eight years, Marc "Chops" Finch was the glue. He wasn’t just a producer; he was the third man in the "three-man weave" on Bishop & Friends. He had this way of cutting through the sports-talk noise with a dry humor that felt like a real person talking to you, not a radio robot.
Then, he was just... gone.
No grand farewell tour. No month-long tribute. Just an empty seat next to Beau Bishop and Eric Rieser. If you’re like most listeners, you probably spent a few weeks wondering if he was just on a long vacation or maybe taking a paternity leave. But as the weeks turned into months, the truth came out. It wasn’t a vacation. It was a clean break.
The Breaking Point: A Bucket of Beer
To understand what happened to Chops on 97.1 The Fan, you have to look back at a very specific, very tense Friday in late August 2024. The Columbus community was reeling from the tragic deaths of Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew. They had been killed by a suspected drunk driver.
The mood on the air was heavy. It was somber. It was supposed to be a day of mourning.
But there, sitting on the desk during the live YouTube stream, was a bucket of Coors Light. A paid sponsorship. A contractual obligation. Chops didn't just ignore it. He snapped. He went on air and told listeners exactly how he felt about management forcing that beer bucket onto the set on a day defined by a tragedy involving alcohol.
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"Management wanted it back up. Send [the emails] to them. Not me," he said, visibly upset. It was a rare moment of "mask-off" radio where the corporate reality of the business clashed violently with human emotion.
Why Chops Really Left the Station
A lot of people think he was fired for that beer bucket incident. Honestly, that’s the most common rumor. But it’s not the whole story. While that tension with management likely didn't help, Chops eventually surfaced on social media to set the record straight. He wasn't "cancelled" or escorted out by security for a single outburst.
The reality was much more personal.
Chops opened up about a long-standing battle with anxiety and depression. He’d dealt with it since he was a teenager, but he admitted that over his final year at the station, the symptoms became "more acute."
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Radio is a grind. It’s early mornings, constant prep, and the pressure to be "on" even when you feel like staying in bed. Chops basically admitted he lost the love for the game. He'd been doing this since high school—when he was the "Voice of the Elks"—and the joy was just gone. He wanted more time for his growing family and less time arguing about the Buckeyes' third-down conversion rate.
He didn't leave because of Beau or Rieser. He left because he wasn't happy. Simple as that.
Life After The Fan
So, where is he now? If you miss his voice, you don't have to look too far, but you do have to change platforms. He’s moved into the world of independent content. He started streaming on Twitch under the name Chopstavern, where he talks about everything from movies and pop culture to, yeah, the occasional sports take.
He’s also leaned into his "Chops TV" brand, focusing more on the creative audio and video side of things. It’s a different vibe. No corporate overlords telling him where to put a beer bucket. No strict segments. Just a guy with a microphone and a lot of thoughts.
97.1 The Fan's Massive 2025 Shakeup
While Chops' departure was a huge blow to Bishop & Friends, it turned out to be the first domino in a total station renovation. By May 2025, 97.1 The Fan looked almost unrecognizable compared to the lineup Chops left behind.
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- Common Man & T-Bone—the legendary afternoon duo—got split up after 12 years.
- T-Bone moved to the mornings to pair with Tyvis Powell.
- The Morning Juice (Bobby Carpenter and Brandon Beam) moved almost entirely to a digital-only format on YouTube and 10TV+.
- Tim Hall moved from the evenings to join The Common Man in the afternoons.
It's been a lot for the "loyalists" to swallow. Some fans are loving the new energy; others feel like the station lost its soul when guys like Chops walked out the door.
What This Means for You
If you’ve been searching for Chops, the takeaway is pretty clear: the era of "old-school" radio where personalities stay in one chair for 30 years is dying. The pressure of the 24/7 sports cycle is real, and mental health is finally being prioritized over "the show must go on."
If you want to keep up with what Marc is doing, your best bet is to follow his social channels or catch him on Twitch. He’s still talking. He’s just doing it on his own terms now.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check out Chopstavern on Twitch: If you miss the banter, that’s where the raw, unfiltered version of his personality lives now.
- Update your presets: If you haven't listened in a few months, the 97.1 schedule has likely shifted since you last tuned in. Make sure you know when your favorite hosts are actually on.
- Support local creators: When a host leaves a major corporate station, they lose that massive marketing engine. If you liked his work, a follow or a sub on his new platforms goes a long way.
The "Chops" era at The Fan is officially over, but the guy behind the mic is doing just fine.