I can admit to several things that give many people reason to question my status.
One is an addiction to sports talk radio.
What can I say, I’m a former jock, a die-hard fan, and a frustrated sports writer.
So I listen. A lot more than I probably should. I also love music, but I rarely ever veer from either KYW, 610-WIP or 97.5-The Fanatic on my ride to and from work.
Unfortunately, too much of sports radio today is shtick instead of substance. Basically, it's just a lot less interesting.
There's another reason for that as well. There are a lot fewer Steve Fredericks on the air today.
We lost Steve Fredericks over the weekend. Steve-O, as his devotees invariably referred to him (a name, by the way, I am told he was not especially fond of), lost his battle against pancreatic cancer.
Fredericks was a play-by-play man for years as well as manning sports talk in the early days.
But he likely made his mark as one of the signature voices of WIP when it was morphing into the Goliath of Philly sports talk. He partnered with Mike Missanelli for six years on an early-afternoon shift that was a 'must listen' for Philly sports fanatics.
It was to Frederick that me and thousands of Iggles fans would turn to after the latest gut-busting loss to explain our predicament.
The thing I’ll remember most about Fredericks is how he brought a much more worldly, almost erudite conversation to the world of sports. I’m not sure that could work now. Sports talk radio is often too much about trying to make a splash. It’s like most other aspects of the media, something to which tabloid newspapers are not immune. The outrageous is what gets you noticed.
Fredericks was not outrageous. He was learned. Which is not say he was not passionate.
I have missed that distinctive voice every day since he retired. I miss it even more now knowing it has been stilled forever.
Philly sports without Steve Fredericks? There’s really only one word to explain it.
Bang!
Thanks, Steve.
One is an addiction to sports talk radio.
What can I say, I’m a former jock, a die-hard fan, and a frustrated sports writer.
So I listen. A lot more than I probably should. I also love music, but I rarely ever veer from either KYW, 610-WIP or 97.5-The Fanatic on my ride to and from work.
Unfortunately, too much of sports radio today is shtick instead of substance. Basically, it's just a lot less interesting.
There's another reason for that as well. There are a lot fewer Steve Fredericks on the air today.
We lost Steve Fredericks over the weekend. Steve-O, as his devotees invariably referred to him (a name, by the way, I am told he was not especially fond of), lost his battle against pancreatic cancer.
Fredericks was a play-by-play man for years as well as manning sports talk in the early days.
But he likely made his mark as one of the signature voices of WIP when it was morphing into the Goliath of Philly sports talk. He partnered with Mike Missanelli for six years on an early-afternoon shift that was a 'must listen' for Philly sports fanatics.
It was to Frederick that me and thousands of Iggles fans would turn to after the latest gut-busting loss to explain our predicament.
The thing I’ll remember most about Fredericks is how he brought a much more worldly, almost erudite conversation to the world of sports. I’m not sure that could work now. Sports talk radio is often too much about trying to make a splash. It’s like most other aspects of the media, something to which tabloid newspapers are not immune. The outrageous is what gets you noticed.
Fredericks was not outrageous. He was learned. Which is not say he was not passionate.
I have missed that distinctive voice every day since he retired. I miss it even more now knowing it has been stilled forever.
Philly sports without Steve Fredericks? There’s really only one word to explain it.
Bang!
Thanks, Steve.
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