The communal aspect of sports talk radio renders local outlets invaluable and enjoyable parts of everyday life for various factions of consumers. WFAN has had a variety of interesting and entertaining characters call its talk shows during its 36 years on the air. On Thursday’s edition of The Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata Show, one caller dialed in to express grief over the loss of his grandmother, which occurred a day earlier.
Since she was an avid fan of the New York Jets and listener of the radio station, her grandson felt it would be fitting to give her a proper sendoff through the outlet. Jerry Recco replayed the clip on Friday’s installment of Boomer & Gio, which prompted co-host Boomer Esiason to express how radio hosts should handle these types of situations.
“You’ve got to act appropriately,” Esiason said, “and you’ve got to give the person a chance to get it off their chest and wish them the very best.”
The midday caller, however, extensively eulogized his grandmother on the air, conveying how she was the greatest grandmother they could ask for, adding that that she was now in heaven with her relatives. While he felt the need to say everything he wanted to, listeners can infer the situation as being unnecessarily verbose and palaverous. After some time passed, Licata had to step in and address the caller.
“Rest in peace to your grandmother; it’s horrible to hear that,” Licata interjected on WFAN. “Now please get to your point.”
Listening to the playback elicited laughter from the WFAN studio, as they understood the situation. Without the proper context, some people may deduce the situation as presumptuous or flippant; however, the staff recognized that Licata had to keep the show on track.
“You can’t blame Sal,” Recco said. “This guy was going on and on about, ‘You’re up there with nanny and poppa,’ and everything and, ‘You’re up there in heaven.’ Just say, ‘Hey, my grandmother passed away. She liked the station; she liked the Jets. Thanks guys.’”
The show then decided to relive what it deemed “the greatest WFAN death call of time,” which took place when a listener called host Marc Malusis to discuss the cremation of her mother. When she said that the ashes would be thrown into the ocean, Malusis began to laugh in the background, causing the caller to ask what was going on.
Shortly thereafter, she stated that she would be with her husband by saying, “They’ll be together in the water,” causing him to try to suppress his laughing fit. While the program never explicitly ranked the call, they took the time to discuss it and the theory behind how long callers should be handled.
“What would you cut it off at?,” Esiason asked producer Al Dukes. “Ten seconds of commentary and then get into it?”
Dukes explained that Licata could have cut off the call sooner, while Recco countered by saying that 30 seconds would be apropos for the situation. If Esiason had been placed in the situation, he feels that 10 seconds are justified to give the necessary remarks and then move on.
“Listen – we understand; we’ve all been through it, but to go on and on and on,” Esiason said. “….I could just see Sal’s face.”