These are interesting sports times in Seattle, for fans and for Seattle Sports 710 host Bob Stelton.
Pete Carroll is no longer the head coach of the Seahawks.
Kalen DeBoer took the University of Washington to the national championship game but then promptly left to take over for Nick Saban at Alabama.
The Mariners are coming off of their first playoff appearance after a 21-year absence.
Seattle is now a hockey town with the Kraken and fans pack Climate Pledge Arena.
And the Seattle Sounders MLS team routinely draws crowds in excess of 40,000 fans.
There’s lots to talk about and Stelton continues to hold down the fort weekdays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710.
“It’s been very active,” said Stelton. “Sports fans have a lot on their minds and there’s a lot of angles. For our purposes, it’s good content-wise. It’s interesting to go into work.”
Seattle, in some ways, is a very underrated sports town. When you think about sports-crazed markets, you think of places like New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas and Boston. But you can’t sleep on Seattle because there’s a lot going on and they would like everyone around the country to understand that.
It’s not a small town with a couple of traffic lights. It’s a major market.
“On a national level, we certainly feel like there’s that inferiority complex,” said Stelton. “This is a number 11, 12 or 13 market depending on where you’re looking at it so you’re not talking about Dalton, Alabama. Seattle is a major market yet sometimes the way it’s portrayed or talked about or at times ignored, it’s treated like it’s some tiny little market with a population of 10,000.”
Seattle is a big market with teams in three major sports. But there’s also niche sports like the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer. Throw in some MMA discussion and there’s an alternate listening audience that is over the moon when Stelton devotes some time to those sports.
It’s not like the content moves the needle in terms of ratings, but it’s going to be a small part of the discussion.
“We might appease those 2 or 3 fans, whether we’re talking soccer or whether we’re talking MMA, and they’re going to be like ‘finally somebody is talking about this,” said Stelton. “The problem is you’ll get 15 other people text in saying if you talk soccer, I’m turning the station. I don’t know if there’s a ton of crossover with the Sounders fans into them being Seahawks fans or Mariners fans. It’s a lot more family oriented and it seems to be a bit of a different audience.”
The Seattle sports audience is big enough that there are multiple sports radio stations in town. KJR, where Stelton used to work, is now on FM broadcasting at 93.3 and that brings up an important question…
Does having a competitor on the FM dial change anything for Stelton and Seattle Sports 710.
“If anything, its kind of just sharpened everybody’s focus,” said Stelton. “When you’re the flagship for the Seahawks and the Mariners, that’s going to give you a built-in audience and we’ve maintained that and grown that. It’s been a steady climb and we’ve gotten bigger and better each year. If anything, it’s a good thing. It’s good to have options and it sharpens your focus.”
During his career, Stelton has worked in a variety of markets and worked for several different program directors. In each case, Stelton has taken something away from where he’s worked but in other ways, he has been steadfast in his belief of himself as a sports talk host and what makes for good sports radio.
He’s been able to balance what has made him so successful while also mixing in a little of what he’s learned from others.
“Over the years, I’ve been able to pick and choose different things that have stood out about each program director that I’ve sort of grasped onto that made sense to me,” said Stelton. “Not everything every program director tells you is gospel. It’s their opinion. It’s how they see it. You figure out what ultimately works for you.”
That includes working for Barrett Sports Media President Jason Barrett at 101 ESPN in St. Louis.
“I’ve taken a little from everybody I’ve worked with, with the exception of Jason Barrett because he’s such an awful person…I’m kidding, of course, he’s one of my all-time favorites,” said Stelton. “I love Jason. I’ve taken a lot of from him. Just his philosophy on radio and his approach and different aspects of the business.”
Stelton also pointed out Kyle Brown, his current program director at 710 along with Tom Lee, who he worked for at KJR in Seattle and Matt Nahigian, his boss in Chicago.
He has been able to take a little bit from all of them and mixed it in with what has already worked for him.
“I’ve had a chance to work with a lot of different guys that have completely different approaches and they prioritize different things,” said Stelton. “For me, it’s just made me much more of a well-rounded talk show host.”
Stelton has been in the business for 26 years and is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s still passionate about sports radio and still enjoys coming to work every day. While his show is his bread and butter, Stelton has also dabbled in TV as a guest and a host while also doing some MMA play-by-play. There’s certainly a lot on his plate to keep himself busy and he’s still motivated to keep going and keep getting better.
“I almost wake up, at times, with that imposter syndrome like when are they going to figure out that I’m not very good at this and I don’t know what I’m doing,” said Stelton. “I think that’s what drives me is just that feeling of I don’t know everything…I don’t know everything about anything. But I’ve got my opinions and I’ve got my perspective and the one thing that I’ve held onto is I’m not going to be outhustled by anybody.”
Stelton has enjoyed a long and successful career, but is there a box on his to-do list that still needs to be checked off?
“I don’t even know what that goal would be,” said Stelton. “Do I want to be a Program Director? I just want to be part of people’s lives every day. I want them to tune in as part of their routine. If I’m not there, I want them to feel like the day feels off when he’s not here. I want to be missed.”
With everything that is going on in Seattle sports these days, you can be rest assured that the Seattle sports fan would miss Bob Stelton if they didn’t have a chance to talk about the Seahawks or the Mariners or the Kraken with him. He’s a familiar and a friendly voice and he’s appointment listening.
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.
