My Letter The Yankees Regarding Wfan Soccer Bashing.

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Talk radio is about as relevant as print newspapers at this point. Unless you are trying to attract the 45-90 year old homebound male who has time to sit for an hour on hold to tell others like him his 12 team trade idea, the return on investment from talking about soccer on talk radio is very low.

And its hard to remember, but almost no one likes soccer in this country compared to the big 4 sports. WFAN would have to start covering NASCAR and MMA heavily before they give consistent airtime to soccer.

 

[franchise646]

Talk radio is about as relevant as print newspapers at this point. Unless you are trying to attract the 45-90 year old homebound male who has time to sit for an hour on hold to tell others like him his 12 team trade idea, the return on investment from talking about soccer on talk radio is very low.

And its hard to remember, but almost no one likes soccer in this country compared to the big 4 sports. WFAN would have to start covering NASCAR and MMA heavily before they give consistent airtime to soccer.

He is right, I'm a under 30 professional who sits in an office all day or I'm on the train all day trust me we listen to podcast not radio, and stream the TV broadcast. TV and stream are more important for like me, and I don't think I'm the only one like that here.

 

[S1ARK5]

Soccer/Football in America is still an incredibly niche sport - not even in the top 7 or 8 here. They are not going to talk about a sport that almost none of their audience cares about. Sad, but true. Plus, I wouldn't want these guys touching the game when it is apparent they have very little knowledge.

While I respect your efforts, and even agree with you on most levels, I would much rather see people promote great soccer podcasts, radio shows, etc. that can really educated the fans. I know I would love to see some recommendation on some great soccer content.

Really dude 7th or 8th? First of all there aren't 7 major sports in this country let alone 8. Soccer right now is behind nfl, mlb, and nba. More people play and like soccer then the nhl. The nhl is a niche if there is such a term for a country of this size. You know what that is OK because being niche in the us and Canada still allows you to showcase your sport to a large number of people. But that is besides the point. Just because the good ol boy networks decide to not show case soccer and promote it up until now doesn't mean it is not popular. Did you see the ratings for the world cup during a weekdays? It was through the roof. Do you see the epl ratings and on nbcsn and nbc during times lots that most people are sleeping? They are very good and can compare very well against nhl ratings during prime time weeknight games.

MLS and soccer in general is in a great spot. You don't need old bigoted racist talk show hosts like francesca who cater to listeners like AL in brooklyn, or Bob in Queens to talk about soccer. That generation grew up with mickey mantle and baseball. That's all they know. Why would you even want those guys to give their opinions on soccer anyway? They don't have a clue and thus another reason they won't talk about it because they will sound even more like idiots.

There are plenty of avenues to get your soccer fix from podcasts and websites. Am sports talk radio is dying anyway. MLS and soccer know this that is why they are pushing online media so much and it will only grow more.

Soccer is 7th or 8th lol cmon man you know better.

 

[jaycrewz]

^S1ARK5,

As a minority who has listened to Mike Francesa for years, I have NEVER heard him be racist or bigoted. And many times has he denounced discriminatory behavior when its made sporting news.

Care to backup your accusation that hes a racist or bigot? Im genuinely interested in that.

I do agree with the only media point though. NYCFC already has more likes and followers on Facebook than both the Devils and Islanders. And is well followed on twitter as well. Why do I single out hockey teams? Because in terms of popularity, thats who the MLS would realistically leap frog first in the future.

When you write a letter like this, you should ask yourself, "in a perfect world, what kind of response to this letter would I like to receive?"

If you can't reasonably answer that question, what's the point of writing the letter?

What do you want them to say?

Its not about the reply. Its about the message sent.

They need to know fans care.

Talk radio is about as relevant as print newspapers at this point. Unless you are trying to attract the 45-90 year old homebound male who has time to sit for an hour on hold to tell others like him his 12 team trade idea, the return on investment from talking about soccer on talk radio is very low.

And its hard to remember, but almost no one likes soccer in this country compared to the big 4 sports. WFAN would have to start covering NASCAR and MMA heavily before they give consistent airtime to soccer.

But this is the station thats covering live games when people cannot watch on TV. So its a big deal when people who work for the station bash the sport.

Right now, when NYCFC starts playing, my best options for games will be TV or radio. Sure I can stream them online...but if Im home, Id watch tv...and if Im at work, Id have to stream on my phone. Id easily hit my data limit watching 1 game. So radio is the most realistic non-TV option.

So like I said, its a bad look to have hosts (and callers) bashing a sport and team that their radio station carries.

 

[KennyD]

Boomer and Carton will not talk soccer. Carton even says "nobody cares about hockey boomer" this is with a team in the city that went to the cup. They are going to cater to their national audience now and talk about the major sports stories of New York and right now its spring training and NFL free agency with a lot of banter. I can not stand francessa so i don't even bother with him; the point is the sport has to be a money maker and make people want to talk and as much as i love this team a brand new team without its own stadium in a city saturated with sports is not what majority of people will want to hear about. Would I love to hear updates about NYC on the radio yeah but if it happens on anything other then their broadcast it will take a few years of being good and SSS in the five boroughs to make people notice.

 

[LionNYC]

Screw Mike Francesa, that guy falls asleep during radio shows

 

[Markham Rollins]

And of course I turn on Boomer and Carton today to see Carton rockin an NYCFC hat...

 

[BxLio91]

Guess it worked

 

[jaycrewz]

And of course I turn on Boomer and Carton today to see Carton rockin an NYCFC hat...

Christ he's such a poser.

Hopefully the station hosts have good things to say about the team after MLS opening weekend.

 

[BxLio91]

Well they talk about NYCFC.
http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=bc98d6b5-b91e-427a-84e9-30d6c9224de5

 

[Pattyboybx]

Don't bash sports radio. Without it id never fall asleep at night.

 

[jaycrewz]

Well they talk about NYCFC.
http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=bc98d6b5-b91e-427a-84e9-30d6c9224de5

Good find.

From listening to these guys over the last couple weeks, I gotta give Boomer props. I admire Boomer being professional and interested in the sport. Id say a lot of that is due to him understanding first hand what its like to enjoy a sport thats bashed or ignored by many people(hockey). He seems to legitimately respect the leagues growth, popularity, and attendance figures. Carton on the other hand, makes it obvious that hes only talking about the team because hes forced to.

They gave a prediction of 20 wins this season. What do you guys think? Overly optimistic for a first season? I think I will roll with that and say 20 wins, 4 draws, 10 losses. Thoughts?

 

[jaycrewz]

Turns out WFAN isnt covering the first game Sunday....970 AM is. So a political radio station is covering the first game....not the team's flagship station...not the top sports station in the metro area.

Lol ok

And looking over their schedule, a large portion of NYCFC games will be on 970 AM. At least the Yankees are playing a good portion of games on their YES tv network.