Thursday, January 28, 2010

Sports talk radio


Ever since I was a kid I have found sports talk radio to be very relaxing and entertaining. Whenever I would go in the car with my dad he would have WFAN on the radio. Mike and The Mad Dog, Steve Somers, and Joe Benigno were the voices I have come to know extremely well over the past twenty five years. My friends and I have a tradition of going to White Castle once or twice a year. The journey is not complete until we have sports talk radio (usually WFAN), providing us with background chatter. There is nothing like a few White Castle sliders while being serenaded by a 2 a.m. Jerome from Manhattan rant about where Brett Gardner is going to bat in The Yankees order.
I purchased the Iphone 3G a few years ago and one of the first applications I downloaded was the AOL radio app. This provides me with access to many of the major radio markets all over the country. At work I sometimes like to put on my headphones and listen to some midday sports talk. My go-to station is still WFAN in New York however I have a few issues that I would like to talk about.
The major problem I have with WFAN is the insane amount of commercials they have. I understand that radio is a dying business and stations need to have commercials in order to make money, but this is crazy! During the first hour of the Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts midday show I would estimate there are about twenty minutes of sports talk with the rest being commercials and the horrible "20/20 flash" updates which are brutal, (I will get to them in a moment). WFAN needs to cut down on these commercials drastically as they totally disrupt the flow of the shows, (the "1-800 cars for kids" spot is the worst commercial of all time and it will make you want to rip out your fingernails).
As I mentioned in the previous paragraph I am not a major proponent of the "20/20 flash" updates. If you are not familiar with what this is I will explain. Basically the "flash" is an update that is provided every twenty minutes. The reporter repeats any relevant sports information and scores. I think this should be done once an hour, three times is far too often to be repeating the exact same information. Nobody needs to hear that the Mets have decided to retain Alex Cora for his clubhouse leadership more than once in an hour.
Having the AOL Radio Iphone app gives me access to stations from all over the country. I have added all of the major sports stations to my favorites list allowing me to toggle back and forth with ease. I especially love to listen to the sports talk in cities where their team has just lost to the Yankees, Jets, or Giants. This was extremely sweet when the Yanks beat the Phillies in the World Series last season, hearing those Philly fans bitch and moan was terrific, but I digress. After listening to sports talk in Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Houston, and Tampa Bay I have found that New York, with its mighty WFAN, has some stiff competition from these other smaller markets.
Besides having far less commercials than WFAN other sports stations from around the country have much more interesting callers who actually add something to the particular show they are calling. I also enjoy how other non New York sports talk shows mix it up. Most of these shows touch on topical subjects that are relevant in the news, whether it be sports, politics, or even pop culture. This is refreshing to hear, there is only a certain amount of times I can listen to Ira from Brooklyn call WFAN and ask Mike Francesa "do you think the Giants can win Sunday?" I have never understood why someone would stay on hold for forty five minutes just to ask a radio host whether a team can beat another, how the hell does the host know!
WFAN has three main shows. Benigno and Evan Roberts, Steve Somers, and Francesa. I thoroughly enjoy Benigno/Roberts, along with Somers...Mike Francesa is pretty rough to listen to. Francesa's show is usually five hours of callers asking the same question while Mike plays god. People put way too much stock in what this guy thinks. People call the show and treat Mike as if he were Jesus Christ. I particularly find it comical when these people call and kiss his ass. This includes saying one or all of the following, referring to him as "Michael" or "Sir" and proceed to offer condolences for his mothers passing in 1997 or comment on his children as if they are close personal friends. To listen to grown men graveling like little peons while they are on the phone with this guy is sickening. Keep in mind this does not happen with Benigno or Steve Somers, just on Mike Francesa's program.
It feels good to get this off my chest. After many years of listening to WFAN I have a lot of issues with the station as I am sure you can tell. However as I have done for the last twenty five years I will keep listening to sports talk radio. Whether it be New York or Houston I love to hear fellow sports fans discuss the games that I love. All I ask is that Jerome from Manhattan gets his own show!