A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to join the amazing folks working the morning show “Kincade and Salciunas,” and receive a behind-the-scenes look at how they make such a smooth operation work. As a guy who yearns to talk about (actually, yell about, knowing how our teams like to disappoint us) the major sports in the Philadelphia area, I could not have imagined such a day being possible. And yet, there I was, able to pick the brains of people I have looked up to forever. Here’s a dive into a once in a lifetime experience.
Before I begin, I have to credit Play by Play Sports Broadcasting Camps for making the connection for me to get into the station. I signed up for their “advanced workshop” in Manayunk at MNYK Studios. That experience in and of itself was incredible. I joined the advanced workshop coming off my first semester at Ursinus, in which I did play-by-play and color commentary for basketball and baseball games. There were a bunch of things I wanted to improve about my broadcast abilities, and the Sports Broadcasting Camp crew came to help. They travel all over the U.S. and bring in some of the best sports media professionals, helping aspiring sports media students work on their craft. They cover everything from sports talk radio, to reporting, to calling games. I have always had an interest in both sports talk radio and broadcasting. I had a live radio show at Montgomery County Community College’s “Montco Radio” and I had a blast. So, when I heard who was coming in for the sports talk radio day, I got excited.
That happened to be Andrew Salcinuas, who co-hosts with John Kincade. I have always been in awe of these guys. The show that he and John run goes from 6-10 AM, 4 hours of talking sports. These two do things differently, as they don’t usually have fans call in like some shows do. That means 4 hours of non-stop sports talk. I love sports as much as the next guy, but it seemed impossible to me that you could do that for that long with minimal breaks. Andrew put things in perspective for me on that hot day in June, and gave some amazing tips for my own show I want to create here through WVOU. He made it sound easy. I really wanted to continue picking his brain and thought there was no better way to do that than to see how they do it, in person at 97.5 The Fanatic. The problem? That’s crazy. No way he lets some random 21 year old dude in, especially with the Eagles season about to be in full swing and the Phillies embarking on a playoff chase. But by some miracle, after a bit of back-and-forth emailing with Andrew, I was in.
September 2nd, 8:30 AM.
I was a little nervous about entering the belly of the beast. I did not want to have to explain why I was roaming around like an idiot trying to find this studio in their huge building. Thankfully, that’s when I met Ray Dunne in the elevator, and he graciously got me into the studio.
Ray was awesome. Ray does play-by-play for Temple basketball and has called Philadelphia Union games, all while juggling his own show. It’s nothing short of incredible in my mind. You could see his work ethic was just top-notch.
Up next, I met Haley, who handles the YouTube stream behind the scenes. Haley also does sideline reporting for Widener University, is a credentialed Flyers reporter, play-by-play for Drexel University, and produces shows at The Fanatic. She’s done that and still had time to answer all of my questions. That’s the type of people who work at the Fanatic. Special people.
I met up with Andrew during a break in the show for a second, then was whisked into the recording studio, and got to sit in with him and John Kincade for a segment. To my complete surprise, they shouted me AND Ursinus out on air! It was so unexpected but so appreciated. The thing that may have impressed me the most is the knowledge Andrew and John had. It’s a huge part of why they’re so good at their jobs. They were able to spin a story a million different ways, because they KNEW every part of the story, every consequence of the story at hand, not just the players and people involved. They aren’t pro players, GMs, or coaches, but it is kind of hard to tell sometimes; they are that knowledgeable.
Finally, I met up with Connor Thomas, the producer of the show that day, “behind the glass.” Connor is another guy who is hungry. He’s got a sports podcast called Locked ON Phillies, one of the most popular Phillies-based podcasts on YouTube. To see him do that and be able to produce at 97.5, and still have a social life was crazy. The thing about the station that shocked me the most was the timeliness and structure of it all. They have what they want to talk about and when, pretty much to the minute. They have times when certain ads get played, when guests come in and leave. It is all structured, and it just works.
That’s when it all hit me. You don’t have to worry too much about talking for 4 hours straight. Of course, you need to know how to talk, but there’s a method to the madness. There will be a second to take a sip of water. There will be guests who come in every once in a while to bring insightful conversations to the table. That helps. Knowing your topics inside and out helps tremendously. Thanks to Haley, Connor, John, Andrew, Ray, and the behind-the-scenes crew. They taught me that with the right team and support system, anything is possible.