Hand-Me-Downs

After the Fourth of July weekend, I wrote a disparaging article about 97.5 The Fanatic entitled “Screw Our Listeners.” My motivation was that the station offered hand-me-down programming from ESPN instead of presenting regular programming with regular and/or fill-in hosts.

That programming was – pardon my French – crap-on-a-shingle.

Who and Why?

I contacted The Fanatic’s programming director Matt Nahigian via email and asked two questions:

1. Who made such a decision?
2. And why?

Matt quickly responded to my email and said that he was the one responsible for making that decision. But he didn’t say why he made that decision.

The day after “Screw Our Listeners” was published, Matt called me and we had a fine conversation. He said he made the decision to reward his staff with some well-earned time off.

I asked him if he’d gotten the opportunity to listen to the ESPN programming that his station aired over the holiday weekend.

He said he had indeed sampled it.

I asked him for his impressions of that programming.

He said he was embarrassed by it – and I coulda sworn he said he’d never do anything like that again.

So the next day I wrote “Matt Nahigian Schooled Me” because I honestly believed Matt Nahigian. But, man, did I get fooled.

Double Whammy

Last weekend, it was more of the same – but even worse – a Double Whammy. The ESPN crap-on-a-shingle came on earlier than the weekend before – and was even worse than it was over the Fourth of July.

After some regular, good, and welcome hosting by Joe Staszak, Devon Givens, and Joe Younes early in the evenings, The Fanatic switched over to ESPN capsules. The first was a race-baiting piece about a former FSU football player named Jonathan Ferrell who was shot and killed by a cop in Charlotte, North Carolina. The incident took place in September of 2103 – nearly two years ago.

The hook was supposed to be that Ferrell was both unarmed and black and the cop was white and this was another hearts-and-flowers miscarriage of justice by a trigger-happy police officer killing an innocent boy-next-door. The piece was narrated by a female with a “Kumbaya” flair.

Full Disclosure

• I don’t know anything about the incident.
• It occurred almost two years ago.
• It happened in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• I don’t care about what happened to an FSU dropout two years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• And I speak my mind with no regard to political correctness.

But The Fanatic must believe the story is pertinent to listeners in Philadelphia because the station repeated the episode several times on Saturday night and Sunday night.

Which made the wheels inside my brain start turning.

Triple Whammy

The Fanatic runs revenue-producing ads during the substitute programming on the overnights and on weekends. But they don’t pay for live on-air hosts during those periods.

Why?

Either 97.5 The Fanatic doesn’t care enough about the sports-radio listeners in the Philadelphia market, or they refuse to make the financial commitment to do so.

In either case, 97.5 The Fanatic continues to say “Screw Our Listeners.”

And after checking in a couple times on Friday night and once on Saturday morning – reruns of yesterday’s Jon Marks and The Cuz – it’s painfully obvious that 97.5 The Fanatic will deliver a Triple Whammy this weekend.

Barry Bowe is the author of:

• Born to Be Wild
• 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
• 12 Best Eagles QBs
• Soon-to-be-published Caribbean Queen