Patriots player on WEEI

[danny88]

The Patriots blow the Red Sox away when it comes to TV ratings, the fact is the majority of Pats Fans aren't whiny soap opera driven fans, those are the people who listen to WEEI and complain about every move a manager makes, the media likes to make this out a Red Sox town but the interest in the Pats is the same or greater, you can measure interest on WEEI talk.

Pretty fair comparison. Sox play 160 games the Pats play 16. I would love to see the ratings had the Pats not won three SB's.

 

[pats1]

Pretty fair comparison. Sox play 160 games the Pats play 16. I would love to see the ratings had the Pats not won three SB's. No one watched them before.

Which is an excellent point I've brought up before. The Sox have a considerably firmer-planted history in the region. If the Pats had come in 1903 and the Sox in 1960, things would be different.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Which Patriot player was on WEEI and what did he say? Or, should we just keep talking about the *** ***?

 

[Tony Cahncuhd]

Ironically, even Patriots Monday sometimes gets to be dominated with Red Sox talk when they're not interviewing Patriots players. For comparison, see if you hear any football mentioned on the Sunday baseball show.

There's not much we can do about it, except not bothering to listen to WEEI if you're looking for football talk. I just wish that we had an alternative other than listening to Felger on 890 (although the PFW podcast is sometimes decent, if amateurish. The Murphy's Pub Patriots podcasts are even better).

Well, at least the Globe is safe from the dreck of Borges.

 

[Rob0729]

A few things:

WEEI does like to talk more Sox because they do still broadcast a lot of the games and their sister station broadcasts the rest. They still have a vested and financial interest in the Sox. They do have some with the Patriots, but not as much.

Also, it is easier for them to talk baseball over football. You can easily get callers to discuss imaginary trades, pitching rotations, and line ups. I don't think it is as easy to generate discussions about football. WEEI is all about the low hanging fruit and will always go for the easy topic. That is why they will beat any hot button issue to the ground.

It doesn't help that other than DeOssie and Smerlas (and the occassional appearance by Tom Curran), most of the guest on WEEI are not guys who can talk football. Sean McAdam might be brilliant talking baseball, but I don't know if he knows how many points you get for kicking a field goal. Felger has pretty much taken all of the other local guys who can talk football (Borges, Casale, Andy Hart, and John Tomase) and Mike Reiss is a Globe guy so he cannot get on WEEI. The only guy left is Albert Breer.

As for which sport is more popular in this town, I think the popularity is a lot closer than people realize or willing to admit. In the past, preseason Pats games have gotten better ratings than a Soxgame goings head to head even when it was a Sox/Yankees game. It doesn't matter how many games each team plays, if the Sox were head and shoulders above the Patriots, there is no way a preseason game would get significantly better ratings than a regular season Sox game. I am pretty sure the Pats' apparel sales eclipse the Sox too.

Where there is a major disparity of the fan base is with WEEI callers. WEEI callers make up a fairly small percentage of the overall listenership and they seem to be clearly dominantly Red Sox fans. I think part of the reason is Patriots fans have been turned away so much in the past that they don't even bother calling.

What I will never forgive WEEI for is in 2003 when we were quitely mounting a 14-2 Super Bowl season, they spent virtually all of November and December of that year talking about an A-Rod Red Sox trade that never happened. Yes, the possibility was a huge story that year, but they would rather just rehash the same story day after day than give the Patriots even a little attention.

 

[Rob0729]

Which is an excellent point I've brought up before. The Sox have a considerably firmer-planted history in the region. If the Pats had come in 1903 and the Sox in 1960, things would be different.

The problem is with that theory is that I don't think history prior to the "Impossible Dream" season in 1967 means much of anything. The Sox were not popular in the early to mid sixties at all. The traditions of Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, etc. couldn't get people to come to the games during that era. Also, the Celtics were arguably more popular than the Sox during the mid 80s' Bird, Parrish, McHale era.

I think the tide is definitely shifting. Baseball is not engrained into kids brains as they were back 10 or 20 years ago. Fewer and fewer kids are playing Little League (the numbers show that the number of kids who play Little League go down every year).

Teenagers of today were raised on Bledsoe, Parcells, Willie, Law, Brady, Belichick, etc. I don't know if they are clearly Red Sox fans first like their parents probably are.

A few more titles for the Pats and the Red Sox have a few seasons where they don't make the playoffs and I can definitely see this town turning into a football town. A large part of any teams' fanbase are front runners and fairweather fans. All you have to do is look at the Celtics to see that.

 

[patsgo]

That's what I just said...per game of course the Pats will win. There's 5 more Sox games a week than Pats games. I am saying that way of judging things is poor because they are not equal.

It's equal do you want to watch the Sox or Patriots, number of games has nothing to do with it, would you watch a Patriots game or a Red Sox game? I bet I know the answer.

 

[patsgo]

Which is an excellent point I've brought up before. The Sox have a considerably firmer-planted history in the region. If the Pats had come in 1903 and the Sox in 1960, things would be different.

There is a new generation of people, what about the old bruins fans or the old Celtics, during the 70's it was a Bruin town, 80'S was Celtics, it changes mostly on how well the teams are doing, but I will again say that WEEI way over does the Red Sox, if the hosts mixed it up it would be a nice mixture, but they make it all Red Sox and everyone follows, plus they wont let you on the air if you want to say something, enough said.

 

[patchick]

I am pretty sure the Pats' apparel sales eclipse the Sox too.

!!! This would ASTONISH me. I actually try to keep an informal tally of Sox/Pats gear I see worn around town and I'd estimate it runs two or three to one in favor of the Sox.

Personally, I'm a Patriots fan first and foremost. I'd love to hear, say, pre-draft analyses of Pats targets on the radio. I just don't believe in the conspiracy theory that all of the various media outlets are out to artificially whip up interest in the Sox and keep the Patriots down. The Red Sox love in this town is for real. But Rob, I also agree that this is a major factor:

Also, it is easier for them to talk baseball over football. You can easily get callers to discuss imaginary trades, pitching rotations, and line ups. I don't think it is as easy to generate discussions about football.

Most mid-level sports fans, I think, understand baseball better than football. So a topic like "which of the RT candidates is best suited to a zone blocking scheme" will send listeners away in droves.

 

[Oswlek]

its eqaul do yoy want to watch the sox or patriots, number of games has nothing to do with it, would you watch a patriots game or a red sox game? i bet i know the answer

This response competely ignores the point of the other post. You really don't think the fact that the Sox play 5-6 times a week and the Pats only once doesn't factor into things? Demand and supply. The supply of Sox games is much higher so fans are willing to forego one out of 6 Sox games to see the only Pats game - even if the demand for the Pats is lower this would still be the case. The TV ratings are a very poor indicator of fans preferences in this case.

 

[mtbykr]

Which Patriot player was on WEEI and what did he say? Or, should we just keep talking about the *** ***?

They started the show by saying they were having someone on, and kept saying that for almost 2 hours.....then nobody came on and i didn't hear them mention it again. It's possible I missed something (not an interview, but them saying something) so if anyone else knows, please speak up.

 

[mtbykr]

It's equal do you want to watch the Sox or Patriots, number of games has nothing to do with it, would you watch a Patriots game or a Red Sox game? I bet I know the answer.

Of course you know the answer, I said it a few posts ago. I would rather watch the Pats, but that doesn't mean I don't watch the Sox...they are very different, I just prefer football.

 

[danny88]

Pretty fair comparison. Sox play 160 games the Pats play 16. I would love to see the ratings had the Pats not won three SB's.

I just want to know how people can compare TV rating from a team who plays 162 games to one that plays 16. Many games on the west coast late at night.

Love the Pats, just feel many people on here are jealous of the Sox for some strange reason.

 

[Tony Cahncuhd]

Love the Pats, just feel many people on here are jealous of the Sox for some strange reason.

No jealousy here, I'm just looking for some outlet to listen to Patriots coverage, particularly once football season starts. There's a rather extreme imbalance in the amount of football that gets covered on radio and in the newspapers. I'm trying to compensate by listening to podcasts, but, for example, it's a shame that a radio show called "Patriots Monday" can't be dedicated once a week to actual discussion of the New England Patriots without baseball dominating.

 

[JDP111]

Why do all you guys whine so much about the Sox? The pats get plenty of talk during football season. They get there share. Not much Sox talk going on when pats season starts up. I have listened to EEI for years and years. I must be dreaming about all the football talk when the pats are actually playing. If you didn't notice it is kind of the heat of the baseball season for a team that has been playing in this city for close to 100 years. The whining about the Sox is pretty weak.

People love the Pats here. Get over it.

I couldn't agree more......ITS NOT EVEN THE FOOTBALL SEASON YET!!!!!!!!!! And, if you didn't notice, the Sox are in the midst of another dog fight with the Yanks coming down the back stretch of the season. I have a solution: DON"T LISTEN IF YOU WANT TO CRY ABOUT THE "LACK OF PATS COVERAGE" during the baseball season. Give me a break. :bricks:

 

[JDP111]

No one is questioning that, good for them, but the fact is people have called to talk about the pats and have been told we are talking Red Sox, the hosts control the topic, and most times it's baseball, the Revolution and BC is so minimal in terms of gross revenue, they won't promote it, Pats Monday is worth more than those two combined, the facts are the facts but you have the right to sin any way you want to.

What the hell are you talking about?

 

[JDP111]

And if there is more Red Sox talk on WEEI than Patriots talk, then it's simply proof in the pudding that Boston is a baseball city first and foremost. The Program Director would make changes to his lineup of topics if the ratings went down. So, that being said, it's pretty evident that the masses don't have any problem with the Sox talk if the stations ratings are any indication of that. And it would seem difficult to talk Pats football M-S when the game can be discussed 'till your blue in the face in one day of programming. After Monday, maybe Tuesday, there isn't a lot to talk about. Thursday and Friday can serve as previews for the Sunday game. The Patriots don't seem to care, otherwise they wold release much more pertinent information concerning injuries, etc. that lead to debate on the airwaves.

I don't think the organization could give a damn whether or not they are discussed ad nauseum on WEEI, so why should the fans be angry at the station when they are simply working with what's available.

 

[Boston Boxer]

They are going to take a break from the Red Sox talk, instead of 24 hours of Sox talk it will be 23 hours and 50 minutes.

and yet you still listen and ***** about it

 

[MetalBleachers]

They started the show by saying they were having someone on, and kept saying that for almost 2 hours.....then nobody came on and i didn't hear them mention it again. It's possible I missed something (not an interview, but them saying something) so if anyone else knows, please speak up.

I think the point of this post was lost a long time ago, what with the Pats/Sox non-debate debate. Was any player actually interviewed, or did they agree that having Schilling back was like getting a deadline trade for free, that J. D. Drew was a disappointment, and that the Yanks were going to be tough down the stretch?

 

[patsgo]

This response competely ignores the point of the other post. You really don't think the fact that the Sox play 5-6 times a week and the Pats only once doesn't factor into things? Demand and supply. The supply of Sox games is much higher so fans are willing to forego one out of 6 Sox games to see the only Pats game - even if the demand for the Pats is lower this would still be the case. The TV ratings are a very poor indicator of fans preferences in this case.

Answer the question, the Red Sox are on and the Patriots are on who do you watch?