The FIFA World Cup has been nothing short of the greatest story in sports this calendar year. My apologies to the New York Knicks, Team USA men’s ice hockey, and the Seattle Seahawks. The tournament has given American sports fans a first-hand view into the geopolitical nature of the event while also providing storylines of interest in nearly every match.
There’s an old saying that goes: “Rules are meant to be broken.” No phrase better matches the vitriol that came with FIFA’s decision to overturn a one-game suspension for United States striker Folarin Balogun. No decision like it had ever been seen by such a large segment of the American audience. A true home-field advantage was provided to Team USA, one that sports radio can learn from.
Last week at the Barrett Media Audio Summit, Audacy CBO Chris Oliviero accepted the Jeff Smulyan Award. In his acceptance speech, Oliviero spoke about taking risks, becoming comfortable with failure, and being proud of the failures that led to greater success stories.
We can learn a lot from failure, but in order to achieve failure or success, you have to try. Too often, we let rules get in the way of trying new things in the first place.
For instance, take a couple of extra minutes past the top of the hour to finish a point. Throw away the rules for engagement in how you connect with your listening audience. Toe the line on social media. Cold-call your local organization to demand answers live on the air. Remember the days of the on-air bit that, by today’s standards, wouldn’t be allowed but made for lean-in listening in a previous era?
Oliviero’s speech recalled a conversation I had with 97.5 The Fanatic’s John Kincade, where we discussed how radio had lost something over time: the creative spark to take risks, be funny while slightly risqué, and break rules if need be. Remember never asking for permission, but always asking for forgiveness? Where has that sports radio gone?
Making Memorable Moments
The point of breaking the rules was to gain attention. Be unique. Act differently, and beat your competition while doing so. Today, attention is the currency that determines success. With attention comes engagement, following, reach, and, in turn, revenue. That’s the ultimate currency in sports radio.
However you may interpret how FIFA handled the overturning of Balogun’s one-game suspension due to a red card, it got attention. Why? Because FIFA broke its own rule.
The end result was a massive flood of reactions worldwide. Many called the decision “unfair,” “blasphemy,” and “injustice.” Others, mainly Americans, called it “justice” and a “correction” for a poor judgment on a red card. What were the deciding factors in making such a decision? Who were the power players involved? Was this all because of President Donald Trump’s thumb on the scale with FIFA President Gianni Infantino?
FIFA is the governing body of the tournament. It broke its own rule and earned every bit of the attention that followed. Sports radio can surely do the same.
Winning In The Attention Economy
If there was one thing to take away from the Barrett Media Audio Summit, this was the central point: Sports radio isn’t competing with sports radio anymore. It’s competing with every sports podcast, YouTube show, TikTok clip, streaming platform, athlete, league, and influencer fighting for the same fan’s time.
That’s the game now. In a world where attention is the most valuable currency, playing by yesterday’s rules is a losing strategy.
That doesn’t mean abandoning good judgment or creating controversy for controversy’s sake. It means having the courage to challenge convention, trust creative instincts, and occasionally make people uncomfortable if it produces compelling content.
Even breaking a few rules from time to time can help. Because the biggest winners in today’s sports media landscape aren’t always the loudest. They’re the ones people can’t stop talking about. Barstool Sports took risk, broke rules, and now dominate the attention of 18-40 year old men. The Pat McAfee Show started out to be Bob & Tom on sports, and now it’s a sports media mecca housed on ESPN. Sports radio once owned sports conversation, but it’s going to take risk and chances to keep their remaining share of it. Meaning, it’s time to break some rules once again.
The stations, talent, and brands that embrace calculated risks will be the ones that cut through the noise. Those that continue protecting old rules simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it” will keep watching audiences drift elsewhere.
The World Cup controversy didn’t just entertain sports fans. It reminded sports radio that winning attention sometimes requires having the courage to break a few rules. Sports radio has never needed permission to be great. It just needs the confidence to break a few rules again.
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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.