Philadelphia = Terrible MEDIA Hockey Town

[NRH]

Not really any buzz during football season, not sure why though, the Philly football teams are ******* garbage 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

It's funny you say that. In 2010 when the flyers played the bruins in the playoffs, I started listening to 98.5 in boston. For one, I just wanted to get the view from the enemy, and two, there wasnt much talk on the radio in philadelphia.

I enjoyed their radio station so I go back to it every once in a while. If something major happens with the flyers, I'll probably hear more about it on that station than I will on philli radio. If the Bruins played or will play tonight, they spend time talking about it. Same with the celtics. Its almost like they like to talk about all 4 major sports equally...weird.

Ive joked around before saying that they must talk about the bruins because the other teams in Boston havent done anything recently.

 

 

Thing is, I don't think it's fair to say Philly is a terrible hockey town.

 

Blame the media all you want, but the actual hockey fans, hockey support and craziness for the team seems alive n well.....even during these times when the Flyers, generally speaking, aren't getting very much done on the ice.

 

Local airwaves and the reporters, writers, etc, who work them are gonna do what they think is going to garner them ratings/viewerships/readers...and they will go with that.

And to make things worse, many times, these same sports talk people go on with either inane or downright polarizing subjects just to fuel a fire of some sort.

 

They do that in Philly from what it sounds like...they do it here in the Twin Cities...I seem to remember them doing that in Tampa Bay as well....and the NFL gets the lion's share of attention, regardless of what the city's particular NHL team is doing.

 

Sad but true.

 

At the end of the day, other than just something to listen to, or if a particular segment is being presented at a specific time, I don't pay much attention to the local airwaves if I want my hockey information.

I like the internet, I like hockey specific stations (NHL network or TSN if you can get that regularl)....in the car, I realize options are limited, unless you have a satellite radio subscription, in which case, I am sure you can find hockey specific broadcasts.

 

But yea....blame the media, blame the "sports DJ's" too if you want...heck, maybe just blame the stations who likely give the marching orders on what the local airwaves talk about......and blame the fact the NHL is just last of the four major pro sports in America......but don't blame the fans in Philly.

Obnoxious at times....definitely loud and opinionated.....but it seems, you guys sure love your Flyers.

[jackhole]

I blame America, for not being intelligent enough to rank hockey as its #1 sport;)

[sarsippius]

@icehole

Were you one of the few Flyer fans that actually got on the air with that condescending jerk off?

Honestly I think we agree on everything except the conclusion, I think it would be more appropriately stated that America is a terrible hockey country as @jackhole says....the New England states notwithstanding.

[AJgoal]

And Wisconsin/Minnesota.

There are plenty of fans of every sport with only a basic level of knowledge. It's not confined to hockey. I'd guess the percentage is roughly the same across every sport in every city, with regional exceptions, like football hotbeds in Texas, and Canadian cities for hockey.

In general, the radio hosts in Philly live on controversy. 94.1's tagline is "drama, guaranteed." That tells you all you need to know. Modern media is so far detached from reporting news and actually discussing it that it's laughable. And that's not just sports. They want drama, they want reactions, because that drives audience up, and with it, ad revenue. So of course they cater to the largest fan base, which, in Philly, are Eagles fans. I stopped listening except in small doses around major dates in sports.

That said, Bill Clement at least used to have a weekly show Wednesday evenings where all he did was talk hockey. Not sure if its still on. It was on a smaller local channel, not 94 or 97.5.

[NRH]

I blame America, for not being intelligent enough to rank hockey as its #1 sport;)

 

Eh, if the sport was any bigger, getting good seats in these stadiums would be harder than becoming a Packers season ticket holder.

[ruxpin]

While we're dumping on Philly hockey media, I absolutely cannot stand Steve Bucci and Bill Clement in studio. Horrible television and, if it's possible, less life than a WGBMW commercial.

[Howie58]

That's a very magnanimous statement, and I applaud you for taking a devil's advocate position. But the media couldn't give two shits about offending or excluding anyone.

I recall when Brian Roberts announced the purchase of the Flyers for 250 million, he stated that the Flyers appeal to white, college-educated viewers, particularly during playoffs, was a major driver of the purchase. I grew up on ABC, CBS, NBS, and PBS, with a few UHF channels, including WKBS, one of the first that broadcast the Flyers.  TV stations had to have a broad appeal--there were few of them.

 

We live in an era of multiple channels that can appeal to niches...same on the radio.  The Flyers don't need a big audience.  They appeal to a small but affluent group.  I agree with others that the cost of participation (including ice team) may be harder on some groups than others. 

 

My gut says hockey is probably not a big media draw outside the Frostbelt. But in this epoch, it may not matter.  There's enough chatter, attendance, and gear sales to matter.

 

Howie

[AlaskaFlyerFan]

Well, poor people can play soccer with a ball and open space. Hockey is hardly as accessible to start.

 

Or basketball. 

 

 

Lots of kids in Cuba play baseball with a stick and a crushed can for a ball. 

 

Not much different than kids from the northern tier states and Canada.  Skates, Stick, and a Puck and hit the frozen lakes & ponds.

[flyercanuck]

@AlaskaFlyerFan

 

Skates and a stick (really cheap ones) cost about the same as what a doctor in Cuba makes in 2 months

[icehole]

@icehole

Were you one of the few Flyer fans that actually got on the air with that condescending jerk off?

Honestly I think we agree on everything except the conclusion, I think it would be more appropriately stated that America is a terrible hockey country as @jackhole says....the New England states notwithstanding.

No. I wont go on the air with him. We just email back and forth. To his credit, he is one of the only ones that will engage in conversation off the air.

True flyers fans do support the team well. It just doesnt seem like there's enough of them. I would say probably half of them that you do see showing up at games would rather be at a football game. Hockey is something to occupy there time until sunday comes.

[MaineFlyFan]

browse on over to Philly.com this morning. Not a SINGLE story on the game last night....Pretty shoddy coverage when they take the time to actually cover.

[sarsippius]

Philly.com

 

Worst....website....ever....

[doom88]

Not much different than kids from the northern tier states and Canada. Skates, Stick, and a Puck and hit the frozen lakes & ponds.

And how much of the US falls in that category? Short of heavily promoting street hockey, the NHL will not be broadly popular.

[PhilsFanDrew]

Philly is not a bad hockey town, and I say that while pretty much agreeing with the content of the OP. It's a football town first. In 1993 when the Phillies were in the middle of an improbable run to the World Series, talk radio was 75% Eagles. In July.

Add in the fact that hockey is considered the "4th sport" in most of America, ESPN quit hockey years ago. As DGG says, it's the media here that sucks at hockey. Then you have 97.5 in the afternoon drive while that condescending douchebag belittles the Flyers and the sport.

Just be careful saying the town itself is a terrible hockey town, I think that misses the mark a bit. If Philly is a terrible hockey town, I'm not sure what that makes the rest of the US team cities

 

Agreed.  Talk radio is about generating ratings.  As much as I would like to hear more Flyers content on Philly sports talk radio, the realist in me understands that hockey is a niche sport here and the station would lose ratings because the vast majority of listeners and callers want to talk about the Eagles.  I think what would work better for the invested Flyers fan would be a podcasting format.  Podcasts don't necessarily need the heavy ratings of talk radio to stay afloat.  It's more of an implied niche format for the super fan.  

[AlaskaFlyerFan]

@AlaskaFlyerFan

 

Skates and a stick (really cheap ones) cost about the same as what a doctor in Cuba makes in 2 months

 

 

And how much of the US falls in that category? Short of heavily promoting street hockey, the NHL will not be broadly popular.

 

My point was that if the southern states and Cuba had frozen lakes and ponds in the winter, then hockey would be be more popular.  It is a climate based game.

[King Knut]

Philly is not a bad hockey town, and I say that while pretty much agreeing with the content of the OP. It's a football town first. In 1993 when the Phillies were in the middle of an improbable run to the World Series, talk radio was 75% Eagles. In July.

Add in the fact that hockey is considered the "4th sport" in most of America, ESPN quit hockey years ago. As DGG says, it's the media here that sucks at hockey. Then you have 97.5 in the afternoon drive while that condescending douchebag belittles the Flyers and the sport.

Just be careful saying the town itself is a terrible hockey town, I think that misses the mark a bit. If Philly is a terrible hockey town, I'm not sure what that makes the rest of the US team cities

Never understood the media's o overwhelming preoccupation with the Eagles considering how rarely they've comPeted at the highest levels.

At least the flyers have a former glory to rest some expectation in. The Eagles won a championship before there was a Super Bowl and run they failed. When does the city stop expecting anything? I gave up so long ago.

[icehole]

Ive tried podcasting shows or just listening to hockey centered stations that are generated from toronto. There's a few problems with that. If I listen to toronto radio, I will hear mostly leafs talk. Then there will be some habs talk and so on down the line. Flyers talk won't be on the menu most of the time.

Also, god bless the canadians, but they are really boring to listen to. Love or hate philly sports radio guys, but some of them actually have personalities and do things to make it entertaining. It's not just a medium to get information...I want to be entertained.

And last, I was surprised at how much they talk about the NFL is canada. For not having a team, they still talk about it. I think even the CFL gets a lot of coverage when they are playing.

[icehole]

And one more thing, most of football's popularity comes from stuff that doesnt happen on the field. Playing once a week makes it easy to bet on the games and make an event out of it.

Also the disgustingness of our society contributes to football popularity. Nobody cares about a quiet canadian farm boy that becomes an NHL star. Everybody wants to see the kid the grew up in compton that was headed in the direction of trouble, selling drugs and joining gangs. Then someone realizes that he can run really fast so they recruit him and "alter" his grades to pass college. Then he gets drafted in the NFL, makes millions of dollars, dances like a moron in the endzone, and dates a Kardashian.

[flyercanuck]

And one more thing, most of football's popularity comes from stuff that doesnt happen on the field. Playing once a week makes it easy to bet on the games and make an event out of it.

Also the disgustingness of our society contributes to football popularity. Nobody cares about a quiet canadian farm boy that becomes an NHL star. Everybody wants to see the kid the grew up in compton that was headed in the direction of trouble, selling drugs and joining gangs. Then someone realizes that he can run really fast so they recruit him and "alter" his grades to pass college. Then he gets drafted in the NFL, makes millions of dollars, dances like a moron in the endzone, and dates a Kardashian...beats her up, sells drugs and shoots someone.

 

Fixed it for ya.

 

And don't forget the hype. The NFL is all about that. It's not football, it's *EXTRAVAGANZAFOOTBALLAPALOOZA*!!!!

[icehole]

And one more thing, most of football's popularity comes from stuff that doesnt happen on the field. Playing once a week makes it easy to bet on the games and make an event out of it.

Also the disgustingness of our society contributes to football popularity. Nobody cares about a quiet canadian farm boy that becomes an NHL star. Everybody wants to see the kid the grew up in compton that was headed in the direction of trouble, selling drugs and joining gangs. Then someone realizes that he can run really fast so they recruit him and "alter" his grades to pass college. Then he gets drafted in the NFL, makes millions of dollars, dances like a moron in the endzone, and dates a Kardashian....beats her up, sells drugs and shoots someone...kills dogs, does cocain, threatens girlfriend with guns, knocks her out in elevator, whips his kid with a "switch"

[icehole]

Fixed it for ya.

And don't forget the hype. The NFL is all about that. It's not football, it's *EXTRAVAGANZAFOOTBALLAPALOOZA*!!!!

I fixed it for you.

[flyercanuck]

And one more thing, most of football's popularity comes from stuff that doesnt happen on the field. Playing once a week makes it easy to bet on the games and make an event out of it.

Also the disgustingness of our society contributes to football popularity. Nobody cares about a quiet canadian farm boy that becomes an NHL star. Everybody wants to see the kid the grew up in compton that was headed in the direction of trouble, selling drugs and joining gangs. Then someone realizes that he can run really fast so they recruit him and "alter" his grades to pass college. Then he gets drafted in the NFL, makes millions of dollars, dances like a moron in the endzone, and dates a Kardashian....beats her up, sells drugs and shoots someone...kills dogs, does cocain, threatens girlfriend with guns, knocks her out in elevator, whips his kid with a "switch" and drowns bambi in a river

 

No, I fixed it for you. 

 

You're it!

[sarsippius]

Never understood the media's o overwhelming preoccupation with the Eagles considering how rarely they've comPeted at the highest levels.

At least the flyers have a former glory to rest some expectation in. The Eagles won a championship before there was a Super Bowl and run they failed. When does the city stop expecting anything? I gave up so long ago.

 

I hear ya, I don't expect anything from the Iggles, more of a somewhere over the rainbow hope that I see a title before I die.

 

And I think the media preoccupation is based on what gets ratings, instead of any journalistic desire to cover all that is actually sports news in town.....which pretty much make it like all news these days

[King Knut]

I hear ya, I don't expect anything from the Iggles, more of a somewhere over the rainbow hope that I see a title before I die.

And I think the media preoccupation is based on what gets ratings, instead of any journalistic desire to cover all that is actually sports news in town.....which pretty much make it like all news these days

Me too. Though I can't figure out why I keep watching. Yesterday is why I keep watching guess. Every week I think, nah. It's not worth it. But most weeks it's on and I watch. Like a Sucker.

flyers are different for me somehow. I'm more invested. Can't explain how or why I care more about one futility than the other.

There's just such a machinery around the Birds. Every channel and paper has triple coverage. They analyze and counter analyze and re analyze... Imagine if Homer had gone through that? His head would have exploded long before Signing Vinny.