Every person has a belief they were born to do something great with their life. Some find their calling through happenstance, or by accident, and some identify it and chase their purpose for what they feel they were meant to do. 97.5 The Fanatic host Bill Colarulo, from a very young age, knew his place was doing something related to sports. At first chasing the dream of being a professional athlete—playing football and ice hockey in high school—he accepted that his skill set was not meant for the next level.
Instead, Colarulo passed on his passion to chase a law degree, ultimately graduating from Temple University. After stints at a few law firms following graduation, he opened his own law firm and grew his business. While he was crafting out a successful path following his degree, the burning desire to get back into sports and rediscover his calling was eating him up inside.
“I always had the bug. I wanted to do sports talk,” said Colarulo. “I have a successful firm. I love the culture that we built. I love the people that I work with, but this isn’t what I want to do with my life.”
Colarulo began his journey in search of being a sports talk radio host by starting a podcast surrounding his law firm in 2021. The effort was called The Legal Hands To The Face Podcast, which focused on discussions about the Philadelphia Eagles. Following a short stretch of weekly episodes, Colarulo stepped away from his podcast in 2022, but continued to have a burning desire to “die with memories and not dreams.”
“I want to go all in on sports talk,” recalled Colarulo, having a conversation with his wife in 2022. “I can’t be a lawyer who just happens to do sports talk on the side. If I’m going to do this, I have to go all in. I have to go all in and dedicate all my time and all my energy to do sports talk.”
A Leap Of Faith Is All Colarulo Needed
That decision several years ago led to Colarulo selling his law firm to his partner and embarking on a journey that has led to a giant wave of success through dedication and hard work. Fast forward to last week when 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia named Colarulo to their new afternoon drive program alongside former Philadelphia Phillies player Ricky Bottalico—an opportunity that Colarulo feels he’s well prepared for and focused on delivering quality content on a daily basis.
“What I’m worried about is making sure that every single show we put on is providing value and entertainment to the listener,” said Colarulo. “They will come because they’ll realize that this is a good show. It doesn’t matter if they were WIP people before or not, they’re going to realize it is a good show that they should be listening to.”
The Philadelphia sports market is considered one of the most rabid in the nation. A city built on our founding fathers with a deep desire for success at any cost. Philly is considered one of the more vocal sports markets in the country. A town where hard work is respected, and championships earn glory forever. Colarulo has ascended from trial lawyer to podcaster to afternoon drive host in a timeline shorter than most Philadelphia athletes last in the market, making his success story truly unique—especially in a market so distinct.
“It felt like it’s been a decade. I know it’s only been a short period of time,” said Colarulo. “I don’t want to downplay what other people have been through because I know it’s been a very fast track. It doesn’t feel like this was something that was just handed to me. It does feel like it’s something that I put a lot of work into, and it was the goal when I left a successful law firm. This is what I wanted.”
The Pressures And Benefits Of Afternoons In Philly
Unfiltered with Ricky Bo and Bill Colarulo debuted this past Monday as the new afternoon drive show on The Fanatic. The program followed the dismissal of Tyrone Johnson back in April after Johnson held the daypart as part of The Best Show Ever? since 2022. Bottalico, the last remaining piece of the former Fanatic afternoon drive program, now will be paired with Colarulo, who says that Johnson was gracious when the news broke that he would be joining the afternoon drive daypart in a full-time role.
“He’s (Johnson) such a class act. He reached out to me to congratulate me on the opportunity. He told me he knows it’s going to be great. He’s a really good guy,” said Colarulo.
The lawyer-turned-talk-show-host possesses a unique mindset when it comes to how consumers take in content in an ever more on-demand world than ever. Coming from a podcasting background, Colarulo understands the role and importance of social media and meeting the consumer where they are—all the time. Unfiltered will share a unique quality with its predecessors as the program will be simulcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia—something which Johnson told Barrett Media last month was “a blessing and a curse” because of its effect on traditional radio ratings.
“I don’t look at television as a bad thing. I know that maybe it could hurt you in the ratings slightly because people will watch instead of listen, but I want to be everywhere that people are,” said Colarulo. “If you put on a show that people want to listen to or watch, make it easy for them to find you by being everywhere that they are. That’s why I look at television as a positive. If there are people who are sitting in their house who maybe don’t own a radio anymore, or maybe don’t own a smart speaker, they can turn on the television and watch.”
Moving On From Working With Mike Missanelli
Prior to being named the new co-host of Unfiltered, Colarulo had been serving as the co-host of The Mike Missanelli Show since the veteran talker returned to The Fanatic last August. The two worked together previously on separate programs under the JAKIB Media brand for some time but never grew close. However, during their time as co-hosts on The Fanatic, they grew to become a dynamic team.
“He understands this is a big opportunity for me, and he’s happy for me,” explained Colarulo. “It’s bittersweet because we really enjoyed working together. We really had a great chemistry on air, but this was a good opportunity, and we think it’s a good opportunity for the station.”
As Colarulo moves on from Missanelli, station management at The Fanatic is in search of Colarulo’s replacement on the program. While Colarulo feels Missanelli is talented enough to do anything—including returning to hosting a solo program—he feels having another voice in the room fits the changing landscape of how sports radio is less reliant on reaction and more reliant on personality.
“It’s helpful to have that number two now in addition to Ray (Dunne) because we’re not as reliant on callers, so it allows that back-and-forth more,” said Colarulo. “I think Mike could do it without a co-host, but I think with the way the station and the direction they’re going, it would probably make more sense to put someone there.”
Through giving up his profession and taking a leap of faith head-on, Bill Colarulo has gone from the ground up in record-shattering time, with the challenge of crafting compelling content for a hungry and unforgiving (at times) sports fandom in Philadelphia. He lives with no regrets in chasing his passion for sports and sports talk, as he looks forward to more success in guiding 97.5 The Fanatic into the next generation of success.
“I feel like I am ready for this. I feel like, not to say the cliché, but I was born for this. This is what I’ve wanted to do. This has been a dream of mine,” said Colarulo. “I think as long as we just keep building good show on top of good show, the success will follow. People will come, people will listen, people will watch—just every single day put on the best possible show that you could put on, and I think that success will define itself.”
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
