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Atlanta, GA | Posted: October 19, 2007
Cries of 'booyah' echoed through Technology Square October 18 as CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer filmed in the courtyard of the Georgia Tech College of Management building.
The hit stock-picking show came to Georgia Tech as part of the program's 'Back to School' college tour. Mad Money, which airs Monday through Friday at 6 PM and 11 PM EST, has now filmed at 10 business schools since early 2006.
Show host Jim Cramer is known for his manic hosting style involving sound effects, props, and frequent use of the catchword 'booyah!'
Several hours before filming began, Cramer engaged management students in a question-and-answer session in which he explained the origins of 'booyah.' He said that prior to Mad Money's debut in March 2005, he once took a caller on his radio show who expressed gratitude for Cramer's recommendation of Kmart stock by using the New Orleans colloquialism 'boo-yah,' which refers to making money.
After Cramer transferred into TV, callers remembered the expression and would use it. Exclamatory use of the word has since become synonymous with Cramer's show.
During taping of the show, Cramer said he frequently hears criticism of his larger-than-life hosting style. "I do some entertaining, and I do some educating," he said. "Some people say it's wrong to do stocks and entertain. I say I'm a showman in the tradition of Jack Benny and Bob Hope."
Management students enthusiastically supported Cramer's performance in pep-rally style by wearing Georgia Tech t-shirts and chanting school cheers from the bleachers set up in the courtyard. Georgia Tech mascot Buzz and cheerleaders were on stage to get the crowd pumped.
Mad Money also taped a segment of the show at the World of Coca-Cola museum, where Cramer praised The Coca-Cola Company's recent performance. "Coke is not only back, it's also better than ever," said Cramer, who interviewed Coca-Cola CFO Gary Fayard.
Cramer had harsher things to say about other companies students asked about in the 'Lightning Round,' a showcase for the host's knowledge of stocks. "This show is not making friends," Cramer says. It's all about making money, he stressed.
Cramer defines 'mad money' as funds available to invest in stocks - not money people would invest in retirement vehicles like 401Ks or IRAs.
In another segment of the show, he fielded questions from members of the Georgia Tech Student Foundation Investment Committee. He praised their performance investing endowment funds in recent years. The student-run group has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 Index Fund, distributing earnings to student organizations.
Jonathan Clarke, associate finance professor at Georgia Tech, said he's a fan of Mad Money because it "gets students interested in finance and investing and that helps bring some excitement to the classroom. Cramer's very passionate about what he does."
Randy Lambert, a master's student in quantitative and computational finance (QCF), said he appreciates Cramer's attitude toward trading. "I don't think his stock picks are necessarily what's important," says Lambert, whose studies focus on trading. "It's how he picks them. He's got a very specific understanding of how the market works and how business works, and that's what's really important".
"I'm not trading very much yet, but I really enjoy watching his show," Lambert adds. "There are all these boring shows on all day, and then Cramer comes on, and he's so exciting."
