OT: Eddie Andelman RIP

[captain stone]

You clearly never once listened to the Sports Huddle.
Boston Sports Radio used to be a pretty smart, fun discussion space.

It wasn't the ragebaiting ******** it has become today.

That's why so many people lament Boston Sports Radio these days. It *used* to be good and worthwhile.

The main problem with Boston sports radio are the Outsiders like Phelger, Bedard, the scum from Boston Has Entered the Chat, et al who give Not One **** whether our teams win, lose or draw because they didn't grow-up here following & rooting for them. For that reason I refuse to listen to those types of people except for Michael Holley, who might be the only one who truly understands...

 

[Family]

There was a time where sports talk radio wasn't mostly rage-bait ****.

There was a time when broadcasters took their role as being a public service seriously.

Sure, they were there to make money while providing entertainment, but the laws that granted them licenses to broadcast said they were trustees of a public resource (the air waves) which meant they had to maintain certain standards and practices.

These days, everything is a profit center, including things that once acted as public services such as hospitals, schools, and utility companies.

IMO this sucks, but now that corporations are people too, there's no use fighting it.

You clearly never once listened to the Sports Huddle.
Boston Sports Radio used to be a pretty smart, fun discussion space.

It wasn't the ragebaiting ******** it has become today.

That's why so many people lament Boston Sports Radio these days. It *used* to be good and worthwhile.

Almost everyone was a NY Giants fan in this region when Eddie began radio because we were force fed the product.

Eddie promoted this as a reason to hate the New York football Giants. It helped develop the popularity of the Patriots at a time they needed it.

He really was more than just a talk radio host.

 

[Bill Lee]

Yep. The downfall started with Ordway and Felger.

Yep. You know it, I know it, and Eddie also knew it.

 

[rochrist]

The main problem with Boston sports radio are the Outsiders like Phelger, Bedard, the scum from Boston Has Entered the Chat, et al who give Not One **** whether our teams win, lose or draw because they didn't grow-up here following & rooting for them. For that reason I refuse to listen to those types of people except for Michael Holley, who might be the only one who truly understands...

Yeah, but Holley has spent too much time with Felger. He's right there with him in Hot Take City. He's useless now, which is sad because he used to be an actual sports journalist.

 

[Urgent]

The backups are weak??
You’re weak! You can’t play in a man’s game.
Because you can’t tackle them.
You go home and tell your wife your troubles.
But only one thing counts in this game.
Get them down on the field which is numbered, you losers.
Get angry!
I could go out there TONIGHT and get four forced fumbles. Could you?
These guys are standing there waiting to be tackled! Are you going to tackle them? Are you man enough to tackle them?

 

[captain stone]

The backups are weak??
You’re weak! You can’t play in a man’s game.
Because you can’t tackle them.
You go home and tell your wife your troubles.
But only one thing counts in this game.
Get them down on the field which is numbered, you losers.
Get angry!
I could go out there TONIGHT and get four forced fumbles. Could you?
These guys are standing there waiting to be tackled! Are you going to tackle them? Are you man enough to tackle them?

And never forget: coffee's for Closers.

 

[patfanken]

The main problem with Boston sports radio are the Outsiders like Phelger, Bedard, the scum from Boston Has Entered the Chat, et al who give Not One **** whether our teams win, lose or draw because they didn't grow-up here following & rooting for them. For that reason I refuse to listen to those types of people except for Michael Holley, who might be the only one who truly understands...

Mike is great, but I'm sorry HE didn't grow up here either. Holley is from Ohio and is an OSU alumni.

Felger, IIRC, came here for college like a lot of people did. and has lived here pretty much since and raised his family here, so he's no carpetbagger. According to AI he's been here for 38 years, so he's counts as being here long enough to qualify for whatever title you want to give him. He's lived here a lot longer than he's lived in Milwaukee.

I don't defend his takes or his business plan, but he does it mainly because it has worked and the rating seem to prove it. He was on air the other day when I was on the road and were in the business of pissing off Red Sox fans that day claiming that when the Sox are bad, once in a great while their ratings are better than the Sox that day. And just like they expected it pissed me off, but simply turned it off instead of listening or calling like they hoped

 

[patfanken]

Almost everyone was a NY Giants fan in this region when Eddie began radio because we were force fed the product.

Eddie promoted this as a reason to hate the New York football Giants. It helped develop the popularity of the Patriots at a time they needed it.

He really was more than just a talk radio host.

Eddy promoted Giant hate because back before the AFL and the Pats, the NFL team that WE got to see on Sunday were the Giants and thus quite a few Giants fans were here. NE was part of their Market.

Luckily, it didn't take long before our natural hatred of NY converted 99% of them and restored the natural order. But in the beginning that was missionary work Eddy was doing. By 85 the conversion was complete and the only place in NE you could find a Giant fan in NE was in the CT suburbs of NYC

 

[Triumph]

Almost everyone was a NY Giants fan in this region when Eddie began radio because we were force fed the product.

Eddie promoted this as a reason to hate the New York football Giants. It helped develop the popularity of the Patriots at a time they needed it.

He really was more than just a talk radio host.

True, Connecticut is like a suburb of NYC. The super wealthy had homes in Newport, RI.

My neighbor was born in Forge Village, MA and his Father was a NY Giants fan, so my neighbor carried on the tradition and raised his kids to NY Giants fans too.

 

[Family]

Eddy promoted Giant hate because back before the AFL and the Pats, the NFL team that WE got to see on Sunday were the Giants and thus quite a few Giants fans were here. NE was part of their Market.

The entire region was drawn in.

One of my first sports memories was being sad because the Giants lost the "YA Title bleeding from his forehead championship game" to the Bears.

Thank you Eddie

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Occasionally we'd get Browns game televised. I was a big Jim Brown fan. Hated the Jints. Pats fan since 1960.

 

[Triumph]

Occasionally we'd get Browns game televised. I was a big Jim Brown fan. Hated the Jints. Pats fan since 1960.

Back in those times every team had a stud RB.

 

[Bill Lee]

Eddy promoted Giant hate because back before the AFL and the Pats, the NFL team that WE got to see on Sunday were the Giants and thus quite a few Giants fans were here. NE was part of their Market.

Luckily, it didn't take long before our natural hatred of NY converted 99% of them and restored the natural order. But in the beginning that was missionary work Eddy was doing. By 85 the conversion was complete and the only place in NE you could find a Giant fan in NE was in the CT suburbs of NYC

I grew up in such a suburb and started watching NFL as a school kid circa 1974 or so. It was kinda awesome because we could watch all the NY and Boston NFL games on TV. We perhaps were getting more NFL content than anyone else in the pre-cable era.

The Hartford station carried the Boston NFL content on TV, but only had radio rights to the Red Sox. No one in our market had TV rights for the Sox back then. That didn't happen till the cable era when it was an expensive add-on to basic cable, one my dad would not pay for.

Given the legacy of the NY teams being a Giants/Yankees fan was the easy thing to do, but I was and still am a contrarian, so I was a huge Sox fan.

I wasn't sold on the Patriots though. I remember back then an uncle went to a game at Foxborough and thought it was a **** hole. Also someone stole his wallet by ripping off his pant leg along with the wallet. I know people here have fond memories of the Sullivan era, but from a distance it really looked terrible.

For instance, I do recall watching Monday Night Football on December 18, 1978 and what a **** show that was. I couldn't find a good article about it online, so here's an AI summary:

The December 18, 1978, Monday Night Football matchup at the Miami Orange Bowl was supposed to be a heavyweight battle between two 11-4 AFC powerhouses, but it instead transformed into one of the most bizarre and dysfunctional nights in New England Patriots history. Hours before kickoff, Patriots owner Billy Sullivan discovered that head coach Chuck Fairbanks had secretly accepted a job at the University of Colorado for the following season. Infuriated by the betrayal, Sullivan suspended Fairbanks on the spot, forcing coordinators Ron Erhardt and Hank Bullough to act as impromptu co-coaches. Completely distracted and utterly leaderless, the shell-shocked Patriots were systematically dismantled 23-3 by Don Shula’s disciplined Dolphins. Miami's relentless defense battered New England's quarterbacks and repeatedly suffocated the Patriots' offense inside the 11-yard line, while Bob Griese spearheaded a flawless offensive attack.

The fallout from the blowout victory destroyed New England’s championship aspirations and created a toxic locker room mutiny. Even though the Patriots technically clinched the AFC East title despite the loss, the team was operating under a dark cloud of distrust. Bowing to intense player pressure and legal realities, ownership bizarrely reinstated the lame-duck Fairbanks just to coach the postseason. The resulting environment was a total train wreck. A completely unfocused, fractured Patriots squad showed up to their Divisional Playoff game on New Year's Eve, falling behind 24-0 to the Houston Oilers before crashing out of the playoffs in a humiliating 31-14 home loss. Days later, Fairbanks officially abandoned the shattered franchise for college football, leaving behind a ruined roster that would take nearly a decade to fully recover.

In the 80s college and career took over my life so I had little time to watch football. I recall rooting for the 85 Patriots but of course they got run over by the legendary 1985 Bears. I didn't really get onboard with the Pats till Parcells came to town in 93. Once he was here it became must-see TV and I've been hooked ever since.