“I grew up in New York, but I became a man in Tampa.” These are the words of Jay Recher, on-air host and assistant program director at 95.3 WDAE. Before making his way to Tampa in 2005, Jay grew up on Long Island where he learned how to become an avid sports fan from his family.
At a young age, Jay remembers his “tough as nails” grandfather telling him not to make fun of anybody that truly loves a sport because you could win a gold medal or be a millionaire. That same grandfather had relatives that were figure skaters in Switzerland. Hearing a tough, military family member speak about how great figure skating is opened Jay’s mind to all sports.
That’s one of the coolest things about Jay, he embraces everything. He loves the four major sports, but hockey and baseball are his favorites. How about volleyball and tennis? Jay played both. What about the Premier League? Oh, big time. NASCAR? Sure, why not? Jay sees the beauty in every sport.
Jay talks about his unconventional path in sports radio, and how working his way up as a producer benefits him greatly now as the lead host of Jay and Z. He explains that mornings equal misery for him on a deeper level than most. Jay also describes his great approach of not forgetting where he’s from, while also being respectful of where he’s at. Enjoy!
Brian Noe: I saw you at the BSM Summit and you were streaming multiple hockey games at the same time. You really do watch it all. How many hours a week do you think you spend watching live sports?
Jay Recher: It’s embarrassing. [Laughs] A lot, and it’s funny because my girlfriend, we’ve been together over a year now, she knows absolutely nothing about sports. Not “kind of” doesn’t know sports, really doesn’t know sports. We started dating and the first month in I was like, ‘Babe, the game’s in the seventh inning, it’ll be over soon’. And then five minutes later, she says ‘I hope that means you’re going to be back soon because I don’t know what an inning is’. As somebody whose dad was a baseball coach, my grandfather was a baseball coach, and now I’m dating a girl that doesn’t know what an inning is, it’s definitely a change.
My girlfriend, God bless her, man, she’s really tried. We’ve gone to Rowdies games, Lightning games, Bucs games, Rays games, and now she’s into it. She asks a lot of questions. She just never experienced it; nobody in her family is into sports. It’s foreign to me. My mom was doing the salsa dance when Victor Cruz was scoring touchdowns for the Giants 10 years ago. My sisters played volleyball and softball. They did everything.
It was different for me, but her saying ‘Hey, I definitely want to try’ was awesome. And now she listens to DAE every day. She listens to the other shows, too. She’s a godsend because she’s really put in the effort.
But yeah, man, I’d say at least a couple hours a day. I’m big into wrestling. I love WWE, AEW, New Japan. MMA, love UFC, and all the different brands there. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t consume sports content. Even when I’m on vacation, sports is my life, man. It’s what I love. It’s family and sports; those are my two biggest things. Definitely a couple hours a day, and even if I’m playing a video game, it’s not Call of Duty or anything, it’s usually FIFA or NHL.
BN: Did you start off as a producer at DAE?
JR: I got into the radio business when I was 28. I moved here from Long Island when I was 20. A lot of my friends were selling drugs or doing drugs, and I was not about that life. I just always knew that I wanted to do better. When I was in high school, I said I was either going to be in the New York City Fire Department, FDNY — I was a volunteer fireman when I was a senior in high school, which was cool — or I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. I ended up going to Oswego in upstate New York. But that just did not work out. [Laughs] I wasn’t really focused on the right things.
When I moved to Florida, the first job I got was at a front desk at a baseball facility called Frozen Ropes. I did that and two years later, I was the head baseball instructor. I ended up coaching travel baseball, high school baseball and giving baseball lessons for about eight years before I found out about the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. And man, Brian, it was wild. I heard the commercial on the radio and it was just this fire in my stomach was like, that’s what you have to do.
I went there and the lady was like, have you ever done this before? I said no. She leaned in and said ‘I’m not just saying this, you’re a natural’. I didn’t know if she was just blowing smoke up my ass. I wasn’t sure. I just gravitated to it. I actually started going to school there. Then, I transferred to New York because I was dating a girl I went to high school with.
They told me ‘We don’t really do transfers at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting because it’s a trade school, but we’re going to let you transfer back to New York because you’re from there originally’. I was very fortunate.
I graduated at the top of my class there. It was really cool because I started six weeks after everybody else. It didn’t really work out with the girl, didn’t really work out with getting any big-time opportunities, and I missed Tampa. I don’t have any family down here, but I just love the area. I love the people.
So I was in New York in 2013 for a year, and in 2014 I came back and I got an internship at DAE in March of 2014. I did the internship for about two months. Then our PD, John Mamola, was like ‘Hey, man, we don’t have anything available at the time, but you did a really good job. If something opens up, we’ll let you know’. I was like ‘alright’, but wasn’t sure if that was it for me at DAE.
Literally, like two, three weeks later, I was on the baseball field practicing, hitting ground balls to one of my teams and Mamola called. ‘Hey, I got a part-time job on the weekends if you’re available’. I quickly responded, “Done!” I don’t even care what it is. I just want to get my foot in the door. Then I just built myself up. From part-time producer on the weekends to filling in, to field reporting for the Lightning, which I still do to this day. Just worked my way up; assistant producer, executive producer, and now hosting for two years or so.
It’s been a journey, man. I’m just so proud of the journey that I’ve taken; I’ve taken every step that you could take. I feel like it’s helped me as an APD, as a host, I would never ask anybody to do anything that I wouldn’t do. When I’m talking to my producer, I know what the job entails. It’s going to be heavily communicative. I’m just going to talk to them because I’ve been in that spot before. I think it really gives me a leg up knowing what it takes to get to the position where I’m at now.
BN: How many years were you a producer before you were a full-time host?
JR: I’d say a little over six years. I know people put in a lot more time than I have, as far as behind the scenes, before they ever get the opportunity to host. That’s something that I’ve always taken with me of never take this for granted because I know how precious it is to be able to get that time.
The first time I ever cracked a mic, I was only in the business for a short time. But being a little bit older, I didn’t get in when I was 18, the guy that I was working with didn’t get an opportunity to get on the mic for years. He kind of looked at me like ‘You haven’t really earned your stripes’. He wanted to do the show by himself.
But I’m one of those people, Brian, I don’t mind awkward conversations. I was just like ‘Listen, man, I know you think that I may not deserve this opportunity, but somebody obviously thinks that I’ve earned it. So let’s not worry about the decision-making because it’s out of our hands. Let’s make the best of it. Let’s kick ass on the show and let’s make us both look good’. He was just like ‘Yeah, you’re right, you’re totally right.’
I became close friends with that guy. He just appreciated me kind of tackling that situation head-on. Because it happens, man. You know, Brian, this industry is so crazy. It’s never a straight line. There’s ups and downs, it’s forward and back, you work for somebody that used to work for you. If you get so bogged down in the minutia and why things happen, it’s too much. Don’t focus so much on why things happen, focus on how you can make the best of that situation and put yourself in a position to be successful.
Do I ever feel like I deserve anything? No, but I feel like I’ve earned it to be in the spot that I’m in right now. I may not be the smartest person in the world, have the most experience, be the best looking, or have the best voice. But the one thing I can control is how hard I work and I will not be outworked. I don’t care who it is, if it’s a former athlete, or if it’s somebody that’s been doing this twice as long as I have, I’m just not going to be outworked because that’s the one thing I can control day in, day out.
BN: I like that. How does being a former producer benefit you on the air now? Does it change your perspective or the way you prepare, or has it had a positive effect on you as a host now?
JR: Oh, big time. As a producer, what I learned was how to craft the show in a way to make it successful, and to make it entertaining and informative. Knowing that you have to never leave a stone unturned. Whether that’s researching topics, whether that’s trying to get fantastic guests, or using audio to make the entire show sound better. It’s a never-ending learning process as a producer. You’re always trying to find ways to make the show better.
I feel that it’s such an advantage for me as a host now because you never feel like you do a perfect show. You’re always looking for ways to make it better. And you’re always understanding that it’s kind of an imperfect science. It’s good to be a perfectionist I think in that aspect of just knowing like ‘Hey man, if you didn’t like today’s show, alright, well, you’re going to get another crack at it tomorrow’ for the most part.
There’s always going to be fresh content, there’s always going to be a way. There’s opportunities for me to make my show better and to make my station better. From being a producer, maybe that’s just my work ethic, or maybe I learned that from my parents. That’s the one thing I love about radio is that it’s so fresh and it’s so new every day. Being a producer just really helped lay that foundation of working hard and just never realizing or never feeling that you’ve ever got it figured out.
BN: When you were doing the morning internship, were you still a maniac watching late West Coast games and taking a nap during the day?
JR: Yeah, I was taking some naps. To be honest with you, Brian, it’s different for me. I have bad migraines. I really need to sleep. If I don’t sleep or I don’t eat or I don’t drink water, I get terrible migraines. It’s hereditary. My sisters have it, too. I just straight up told my bosses one time, I can’t work mornings. If you have to go in a different direction, then I understand that and I’ll have to go get another job. I’ll go be a baseball coach. I understand that, but for me, it’s about quality of life.
My dad’s a custodian, my mom’s a lunch lady. They’ve been busting their ass to keep a roof over our heads, four kids, for all these years. Who knows if that’s necessarily what they wanted to do with their lives, but I look at them with so much appreciation. But also looking at it from the perspective of, if I’m going to do something with my life for my profession, it’s going to be something that I truly enjoy and truly love, and what time that is definitely factors into that entire thing.
When people will say ‘Oh man, you wouldn’t work morning drive in New York? In your hometown?’ I’d say no, I’m sorry, it’s not a good quality of life for me. You only live one life. If I’m feeling miserable, I have migraines four out of seven days, is that really worth working in the mornings? It’s not for me. It’s not a good quality of life. Those mornings were torture. I’m never going to do that again.
BN: As far as the teams you root for, I’d imagine you still root for a few New York teams. If that’s the case, what’s your approach while doing radio in Tampa? Do you let it be known, or do you just not dwell on it?
JR: I’m glad you asked that question. I have a very unique perspective on this whole thing because it’s one thing to like sports, I live and breathe sports. And my family does, too. My great-grandparents were Yankee fans. I didn’t just stumble upon them as a kid like ‘Oh, wow, Derek Jeter is on the team’.
No, I remember when the Yankees stunk in the early ‘90s. My grandfather would tell me about “Old Reliable” Tommy Henrich and what he remembers about the Yankees in the ‘40s. This is what I grew up on. I remember I won $60 in the Super Bowl pool when the Giants won the Super Bowl when I was five years old. This is in my blood.
To move down to Tampa, and especially growing up being a huge Yankee fan, I had to really take a hardline stance on what my approach was going to be for that, knowing that it may not be popular, nor is it going to be something that people will really understand unless I was very thorough in explaining it. This is how I do it. I look at it like this, you can never forget where you’re from, but you also have to be very respectful of where you’re at.
I’ve lived here since 2005. There’s a reason why I live in Tampa, I love it here. I think I’d be extremely hypocritical if I was a sports radio host and I didn’t support the local teams. The way I look at it, and the way I explain it to people is, I feel like I’m Archie and Olivia Manning. Peyton and Eli were their sons. New York and Tampa are my cities. They didn’t love Peyton more than Eli because he was born first. That’s how I look at it. That’s how I approach it.
Some people don’t get it, they say you should root for the home team. But you didn’t grow up the way I grew up. I can’t forget when I was nine years old, I grew into loving hockey when Mark Messier led the Rangers to win their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. I ran around my neighborhood in my underwear. People thought I was being kidnapped and I ran away from home. It was crazy.
So for me, I can’t just forget that aspect of my life. That’s how I look at it. And that’s how I convey it. A lot of people have accepted it because I’m very genuine and very honest and open about what my past is and where I’m from, but also really heavily supporting the teams that are here in Tampa Bay. It’s not for everybody, and I don’t expect certain people to understand that, but that’s how it has to be for me because I spent 20 years in New York, and I was such a huge sports fan.
BN: When you think about your sports radio future over the next five years, what would make you happy and what do you want it to look like?
JR: Well, for me, I love Tampa. I love the city. I love the people. I really like working very closely with the Tampa Bay Lightning. They were with iHeart for a while but before this season they left us and went to a competitor. I’ve done a lot of stuff with them, like going to the draft in Vancouver a couple years ago and being a host on their postgame show.
Unfortunately, I can’t work as closely with them anymore because they’re no longer with us, but I still cover every home game and have a great relationship with the entire organization. I don’t take that for granted. It means so much to me. I just want to continue building my brand here in Tampa, just trying to be the best version of me on and off the air as I can and be a great role model.
I always think about it, like I did when I was a baseball coach, I always thought about every time I step onto the field, I’m always representing the name on the back of my jersey. I’m always looking at myself, even at 37 years old and going to be 38 in a couple of weeks, and a host of a midday show in a top-20 market, I still look at myself as Doug and Sue’s son. I always want to make them proud. My grandma’s 85, she listens to the show every day. Huge Mets fan. Thank God for the iHeartRadio app, listens every day.
I’m the oldest of four kids, so I always want to be a good example for my two sisters and my brother who are all in their 30s. They all have their own kids. It’s important to me to just kind of stay true to myself. I’ve never really thought about ever moving back to New York. I know obviously going to the No. 1 market, that’s like the dream for a lot of people. I would never say the door would be closed on that because it would be nice to go back to New York.
I do miss my friends and family that are all up there, but it would have to be a huge opportunity. WFAN, ESPN New York, Rangers, Yankees, Knicks, etc., something that would really make me question leaving such a wonderful place as Tampa. I always say I grew up in New York, but I became a man in Tampa. I built a life here.
The people here are just so incredibly awesome. The next five years, just hopefully doing good work, doing good by people, surrounding myself with great people, and more fantastic times on and off the air.
Brian Noe is a columnist for BSM and an on-air host heard nationwide on FOX Sports Radio’s Countdown To Kickoff. Previous roles include stops in Portland, OR, Albany, NY and Fresno, CA. You can follow him on Twitter @TheNoeShow or email him at bnoe@premierenetworks.com.
