Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti have been on the air for 13 years on 98.5 The Sports Hub. The two of them pride themselves on trying to give listeners the perspective of the beat reporter while also examining how fans feel.
Massarotti was a guest on the latest episode of the Takin A Walk podcast with Buzz Knight and he said one of the goals of the show is to examine why fans might feel a certain way about an issue in Boston sports and that he and Felger can give great insight on a situation based on their past experiences as beat reporters.
“One of the things we really try to examine on the show, and Mike is excellent at this, is sort of the feeling of things and what the genesis of those emotions is and the conflict that exists both in terms of what’s inside any fan and what’s inside any organization. He and I were both beat reporters for a really long time and I think what that does is give you insight into how a sports team works and what types of stuff goes on inside the wall, whether it be at Gillette Stadium or Fenway Park because there’s a lot of politicking and angling and conflict and resolution that goes on that most fans aren’t privy to and we both were.”
Felger and Massarotti have seen a whole lot of winning in Boston since their show began and Massarotti knows that timing has been key to the show’s success because of the fans’ interest in talking about winning teams.
“Felger and I have talked about this a million times. Boston had not won a championship in a long time before the Patriots won in 2001, Mike was on the Patriots beat at the right time. Then, the Red Sox won and I was on the Red Sox beat at the right time. There is a certain amount of timing in these things that nobody really can control, right? As much as we like to think we do a good show, people have to care.”
This year, Massarotti got the chance to be in the booth as a color commentator for some Boston Red Sox games on NESN. It was an opportunity that even surprised him, but he told Knight he enjoyed being back at the ballpark again since his days as a Red Sox beat reporter.
“It kind of came out of nowhere. I was surprised, I did not see it coming. My relationship with the Red Sox over the years has been, as you expect, hot and cold. Along the way, there were times when the relationship was tense and still are. Obviously, they own NESN. They have a say in who does their games. I was both floored and impressed. I give them a lot of credit for being willing to entertain it. I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a fun year. Where it’s leading, I have no idea.”
