When Jason Fitz was let go by ESPN back in June, it was certainly a tough pill to swallow. But, as it turns out, Fitz landed on his feet very nicely with two unbelievable opportunities.
The first new gig he landed was a digital role at Yahoo Sports hosting on-demand shows across the platform, including a fantasy football show and NFL shows while also producing quick-hit video reactions to everything happening to college football.
And the second new opportunity is joining The Fellas with Anthony Gargarno Saturday mornings on Fox Sports Radio from 5am to 9am.
After a bump in the road, life is good for Fitz.
“I couldn’t be more excited honestly,” said Fitz. “The incredible part of it is I got to land at two places just are dream a come true – each of them.”
As soon as Fitz was let go by ESPN, Ryan Spoon from Yahoo Sports reached out to him. It was Spoon who helped bring Fitz to ESPN in the first place.
Networking and relationships are so important in sports talk radio and lightning certainly struck twice in this case.
“He’s somebody I’ve known for years,” said Fitz. “He was one of the first people who reached out to me after the news broke from ESPN.”
This past Saturday, Fitz began his new opportunity at Fox Sports Radio and, for him, it’s the perfect landing spot with the perfect partner in Gargano because they both, to steal a line from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, like to “bring it”.
“We both bring, every single day, every ounce of energy we have,” said Fitz. “Saturday mornings is the perfect slot because I love covering college football and I love covering the NFL. When you are coming in on Saturday morning, you get the chance to set everybody’s weekend off right and talk about all of the biggest action across two days of football. That’s a dream come true. It couldn’t be any easier to do that type of show.”
The two new jobs for Fitz present a great 1-2 combination for his career. The Yahoo opportunity gives him the chance to really sink his teeth into college and pro football. But as that new job began, Fitz still wanted to be a part of sports talk radio.
So, when Fox Sports Radio called, he was all ears.
“I knew that radio was something that matters to me,” said Fitz. “The relationship that you get with sports talk radio is untouchable. You’re with people every day through every memory. The opportunity to stay in radio was something that absolutely was a key for me.”
Talking to a national audience is something that comes natural for Fitz who has lived all over the country. He grew up in Las Vegas and then moved to Nashville where his career in the music industry took off. Fitz was very successful in music and was the fiddle player for The Band Perry. Then it was off to Connecticut when he started working at ESPN.
For Fitz, working in radio was meant to be.
“I think that’s part of why I love radio,” said Fitz. “I know the passion that each of those different regions have. I know how to talk to each of those regions about what they love. Living all over the country gave me a little different perspective.”
Working in the music industry can certainly be glamours but it can also put a strain on your life. His passion for sports led Fitz to the decision to leave the band and embark on a different career. He started out doing a podcast and that ultimately led him to sports talk radio and the opportunity to host a morning show on 102.5 FM The Game in Nashville.
There were two hurdles that Fitz had to overcome early in his sports career.
One challenge was going from creating content for a one-hour podcast to doing a three or four-hour radio show on a daily basis.
The other challenge was not hearing the cheer of a crowd when the show was over, something that he was used to in music.
“For years of my life at the end of a concert, you know from the crowd reaction if they enjoyed it,” said Fitz. “It was staggering to me to finish radio and just sit there in front of a microphone and not have any reaction of any sort. It took a little while to get used to the fact that you have to find your own affirmation.”
While Fitz has no regrets over leaving the music industry for sports, he continues to keep his toes in the water when it comes to making music. There are artists who have the ability cross over from one music genre to another but what Fitz would like to do is have his two worlds crossover.
The goal is to someone combine music with sports.
“I’ll never stop playing,” said Fitz. “I’ll never stop being a musician. It’s rare that I ever think about doing anything big with music anymore because I love what I do so much in the sports world. I think this fall I might do some sad songs for teams that are losing and have a little bit of fun musically. I want to find ways to bridge that.”
Whether it was his career in music or his current life in sports, the goal for Jason Fitz was always to make an impact with his audience.
He doesn’t really have anymore boxes to check when it comes to his professional life. He just wants to continue doing what has made him successful.
“When you hear a song, you remember where you were,” said Fitz. “You remember everything about the girl you loved and all those things. I wanted to do that in music and frankly I was really lucky to get to be a part of that. When I switched over to sports, I wanted to do the same thing. For me, it’s never been about can I be famous and can I be rich? It’s always been about can I get in front of as many fans as possible so that I can share the energy that comes with a win the sorrow that comes with a loss with fans every single day.”
Whether it was his prior life with The Band Perry or his current life in sports, one thing is for certain about Jason Fitz. He’s far from DONE.
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.
