Marc Ryan was enjoying his time hosting the afternoon show at WYRD in Greenville, South Carolina. But, for each of the last 14 years of his career, he carried with him a Post-it note as a reminder of where he ultimately wanted to land.
On that note were three all-sports radio stations that were his dream situations and those were 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit, WFAN in New York and 670 The Score in Chicago.
“You never think that you’re going to get that call or get that opportunity,” said Ryan. “But when it came, you wanted to be able to jump at it.”
And jump at it he did recently accepting a full-time position with 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit hosting pre-game, post-game and studio shows for the Lions, Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers while also serving as a fill-in host for the regular shows on the station.
Not only did Ryan pursue the job at The Ticket but he was also in the running for a full-time hosting job at what was then CBS Sports Radio and now Infinity Sports Network where he continues to host a weekend show.
He was happy to be able to take his talents to Motown.
“It’s incredibly exciting,” said Ryan. “I’ve been married a year and a half, and I asked my wife (Angela) if she would be willing to come with me when we got married if I ever got a job at one of my three dream stations. This was one of them.”
Ryan arrived at The Ticket on April 1st and he is hopeful his family will join him soon. Last week, Angela was in town to spend some time in what is somewhat familiar territory for her with family sprinkled throughout Michigan.
Just another reason why The Ticket was on his list of dream jobs.
“Her parents are from Michigan, so she’s got family scattered around the state including some in the Detroit area,” said Ryan. “It just worked out beautifully to be able to have a dream station in a dream market that I was unfamiliar with but my wife was not.”
To say that life for Ryan is different doing sports radio in Detroit as opposed to South Carolina would be an understatement. He has learned very quickly that the local pro teams are a religion to the people in town and while he loved his time in Greenville, working in Detroit has been pretty special.
“It’s incredible,” said Ryan who has also made stops at Houston and Atlanta during his career. “I’ve never experienced anything like this. This is a fan base that their knowledge level would floor you. It really challenges you as a host to give them a new perspective that they can’t get on their own. I love that challenge and I relish that challenge.”
Part of that challenge is endearing himself to a new audience and making sure that he is accepted. It can be difficult for an “outsider” to come to a new market and try and win over the listeners, especially if that host is not from that area. But throughout his career, Ryan has been able to carve out an adaptability to any market and the ability to host in any market.
Not every market is the same, so Ryan has to figure out what it will take for him to succeed in Detroit.
“I’m in the learning process right now of what works in Detroit and what doesn’t work in Detroit,” said Ryan. “I’m getting an opportunity to fail because if you don’t fail, as Denzel Washington said, you’re not really trying.”
So, once Ryan arrived in town, he’s been on a crash course to learn as much as he can about the Detroit teams. Ryan has been doing his homework and spending a lot of time listening to the radio station and watching game.
He misses his family, but he’s making the most out of his alone time.
“If there’s been one positive about not being with your family, it’s that I’ve had nothing to do except learn,” said Ryan. “I’m here in a quiet place by myself all day long. What else am I going to do? The station has become the sound track of my life. When you make a mistake here, they let you know that you made a mistake.”
Marc Ryan hasn’t made too many mistakes, if any, during his career as he’s been able to carve out a pretty good career so far. It’s a career that has now reached a new milestone by landing one of his dream jobs at The Ticket.
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.
