For Ryan Edwards, it’s a dream come true.
Originally from New Mexico, Edwards was already a Denver Broncos fan because of his father when he moved to Colorado in 1998. The Colorado State alum began his sports radio career in the Denver market back in 2009 but now he has made his way to radio estate that he has been trying to get to for quite some time.
He is now part of the KOA Sports Zoo weekdays from 3:00-6:00 PM MT.
“I’m really excited about it,” said Edwards. “It’s been a dream of mine to work in afternoon drive. To see some of the greats that have been on in Denver in that time slot and to have an opportunity to really show what I’m capable of is a really cool opportunity especially with Dave Logan and Alfred Williams, two radio legends.”
Edwards had been co-hosting Broncos Country Tonight on KOA with Benjamin Allbright since 2019 after working nights for a couple of years at Orange and Blue 760 co-hosting First and Ten at 10. There’s certainly a difference in host a show at night as opposed to the responsibility that comes with being part of an afternoon drive program.
While this is a dream job for Edwards, he’s going to miss what he’s leaving in the evenings.
“You have a lot of freedom (at night) to kind of experiment with different topics and with certain bits,” said Edwards who began his career at 104.3 FM The Fan in 2009 and also spent some time at Mile High Sports Radio.
“I’m going to miss working with who has been my radio partner for the last three years. We really developed a lot of chemistry and we built up Broncos Country Tonight as a brand for the market.”
And now Edwards becomes a third voice in afternoon drive where he hopes to bring what he calls a “fans perspective” to the program.
Edwards adopted all of the local sports teams when he moved to Colorado so he has a perspective on those franchises that the listeners can relate to.
“(Logan and Williams are) football guys and most of the time they look at things from a football perspective,” said Edwards.
“Sometimes the football guys don’t get it right. Sometimes, they have an opinion on something but it doesn’t encompass everybody’s perspective including the fans which makes up so much of any team’s base. The way I view radio and media in general is a conduit to the fans and you’re a conduit to the team. I’m going to try to be the voice for the fans on that show.”
There’s a different dynamic to hosting a talk show when there’s one host as opposed to two hosts. But now, the Sports Zoo is going to have three voices and that presents a challenge in how the flow of the show is going to work between Logan, Williams, and now Edwards.
It’s going to be the very definition of a “work in progress” and the topic of discussion will play a role in the flow of traffic.
“There will be times where (Logan and Williams) are going to be going back and forth because they’re very passionate,” said Edwards. “So, it’s been a bit of a fluid thing but it’s three voices and just using our background as perspective to break down every single topic.”
And Edwards will certainly be able to bring his own unique contributions to the discussion on the Broncos, Avalanche, Nuggets, and Rockies. From his experience, both as a fan and as a reporter, Edwards will be able to bring a lot to the table because he has cheered for and has covered all of the teams in town in various ways.
“I think it helps (being a fan) because it gives you some history and background and you know the people you’re talking to,” said Edwards. “I’ve covered all of these teams, I’ve been to their practices, I’ve been to their games and covered them for a long time. I’ve had a lot of history with these teams beyond just the Broncos.”
Sometimes, dreams do come true.
For Ryan Edwards, the dream of hosting afternoon drive in Denver has come to fruition and he’s doing it with two legends that he has admired for a long time.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
