As an intellectual exercise, listening to sports talk radio lies somewhere between playing tic-tac-toe with a hamster and watching re-runs of the Jerry Springer Show. Still, it occasionally has its revelatory moments, as it did last week when Hugh Douglas, a host on WIP's 10am-2pm slot finally proclaimed, "I've had it!"
When his co-host Joe Giglio brought up the subject of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts—"brought up" is not quite the correct term, since the subject never goes away—Douglas said, "I am so f***ing tired of this f***ing conversation." Only he used the real words. Douglas didn't say it loudly or even angrily, and that's why it was clear he had truly reached his limit. Hugh Douglas, a former Eagles player, simply could not spend one more second talking about Jalen Hurts.
The comment apparently didn't make it onto the airwaves but was caught in the streaming version of the show. One rule these days, by the way: your life is probably streaming somewhere, so be careful.
Sports talk on the radio has been around in some iteration since the 1950s, but it really caught hold in the 1980s for several reasons. There was a loosening of regulations by the FCC that allowed certain things to be said on radio that couldn't be said on commercial TV. Cellphones came along and now Micky from Manyunk could call from his car to vent about his particular sports obsession. The growth of the internet forced traditional corporate-owned radio stations to become more daring and controversial.
Sports talk radio and political talk radio, for that matter, run on the dual engines of outrage and endless rehash. Hosts understand you can talk about something at 7am and still bring it up at 9 and 10am because different people will be listening. At least in theory.
But the important thing for talk radio hosts is to seize upon a topic that he—it's usually a he—thinks will generate the loudest and most enduring public response. In Philadelphia, as WIP sees it, that is the Eagles' quarterback. Is Jalen Hurts the reason the offense was weak last season? Should the Eagles draft a backup. Did the Eagles win a Super Bowl because of Hurts or despite him? On and on it goes.
I called Ray Didinger, a friend and respected WIP Philly radio voice for a half century, for his opinion on the Douglas outburst, and here's what he said: "The Phillies have changed managers and climbed back into the pennant race, the Flyers actually won a playoff series, three Villanova kids led the Knicks to the NBA title, and the World Cup came to town, yet the only thing you hear discussed on WIP is Jalen Hurts. I totally understand Hugh's frustration. The only shock was that it took this long."
Look, as topics go, endless disquisition about the quarterback of the Eagles seems relatively harmless. But there can be consequences of honing in on one subject. Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was the subject of endless WIP debate during last year's disappointing season, and near the end of the year his house was pelted with eggs and he was subjected to verbal abuse; a bridge way too far.
At its best, sports talk radio acts as a sort-of metaphorical living room, a place where like-minded folks can discuss topics of commonality. But it's more often than not an unpleasant basement; dark and dank. An echo chamber of unpleasantness.
Yesterday I had a long drive to South Jersey, so I skipped around on my radio. A little news, a little Comedy Central, a little music. Then, a stop in at WIP. They were talking about Jalen Hurts. I was so...daggummed tired of that conversation.
