98.5 fm putting down the Celtics

[housecall]

The Red Sox and Patriots are still #1 and #2 respectively, regardless of what the Sports Hub guys would have you think.  They are closely affiliated with hockey and they attract the typical hockey crowd (lower class native Bostonian types), so it seems skewed if you listen to their station.

The Celtics are probably solidly #4 now that they are fading and the Bruins own it.  Prior to this year's playoff run, though, I don't think the Bruins were more popular than the Celtics.  As others have said, it's cyclical.

Felger is a hater.  A sourpuss wind bag if I've ever heard one.


All that said, I think a significant factor in the difficult the Celtics have had in gaining a lasting foothold in this city is race.  Boston (and New England in general) is very predominantly white, and the Celtic teams of recent years have been mostly comprised of black players - especially the '08 team, which had no white rotation players (Scal doesn't count).  It's much easier for the city to rally around a team of white hockey players (even if practically none of them are even American).

TP,All you stated is sad but very true...just 5-6months ago Felger was hating on his own team,the Bruins.I wonder how he manages to stay on TV(comcast).He's probably the biggest Celtics hater of all the Boston sportsreporters.I wish he would move back to Wisconsin or whatever rock he crawled from under.

[jaybahs]

The Bruins just won the whole thing and the Celts are in their decline ... People jump on and off the bandwagon ... it happens.

[CelticRob]

Celtics will be fine since they have good owners and Danny running the show. I have no doubt the Celtics will win 2 or 3 titles this decade. No way we go 26 years between championships again because our front office and ownership wants to win and they know what they are doing-even the Perk trade will look good in time because Green is going to start playing like we know he is capable of and the 1st round pick we get from Clippers could get us a stud player also.

[Overrated]

I listen to 98.5 sometimes just because I don't know of any other sports radio stations aside from 850 AM. I know 98.5 is the hub of the Bruins and Patriots, but they need to talk about other sports as well. Even when the Celtics were in this year's playoffs, I never heard a peep until they were matched up with Miami... and then it was all about LeBron and not so much about the Celtics.

[Mike-Dub]

The guy is wrong lol and I don't get to listen to the Sports Hub because I live in southern RI and don't get the channel, but I think EEI obviously does a much much better job promoting the Pats and Bruins (who aren't affiliates to their channel). 

I bet 98.5 sucked on coverage of the Celtics with their run to the Finals a year ago. 

I believe it was Gerry on Dennis and Calahan that said this that this is a WINNING town where the casual fan jumps on the bandwagon of whatever team is winning at the moment and that couldn't be more true (even though it is still Sox 1 and Pats 2).

[Chris]

I am not sure who this guy is (must be a fill-in over the holidays), but I think he is right.  If the lockout cancels next season, I don't think it is going to make much of a blip on the overall Boston sports scene...at least compared to if the NFL or MLB lost a season.

And he is also right that Boston is a Celtics city much more than an NBA city...and that goes for all sports. 

Boston loves their teams, and they love winners.  If their team is struggling, overall the fanbase (and we are talking the casual fans that make up 80%+ of the fanbase, not the people who post on forums like this) simply tunes out, and if a team other than the Boston team is playing, there is very little interest (I think Football is the only exception, and that has much more to do with fantasy football than people loving the sport so much).

[RIPRED]

I can't stand 98.5 in general. Toucher & Rich constantly talk about D&C. I'm not tuning in on my way to work to hear about your battle with WEEI; makes for very weak radio if you ask me.

I used to listen to Felger & Maz in the afternoon because I couldn't stand the buffoonery of The Big Show, but I prefer the new Michael Holley version of The Big Show. New Big Show is probably my favorite on either station. Would be great if they dropped Big O for Michael Smith.

[Chris]

I can't stand 98.5 in general. Toucher & Rich constantly talk about D&C. I'm not tuning in on my way to work to hear about your battle with WEEI; makes for very weak radio if you ask me.

Couldn't agree more about this.  I could care less about their ratings, and I sure as heck don't think it is good radio to whine about it.

Whenever either of the stations are talking about the other station, I switch to my ipod. 

BTW, I also can't stand Wallach constantly taking shots at Dale.  I have no idea what went on there, and perhaps Dale is in fact a total jerk...but the whole thing comes across as Wallach being a crybaby because Dale (rightfully) determined that he is nothing more than a mediocre flash-boy, and has no business talking outside the flash, other than to be made fun of. 

[jdpapa3]

Not that this is the end-all, be-all, but are there any numbers out there showing their tv share for similar circumstances? For instance, game 2 vs. the Knicks on a Tuesday night vs. Bruins/Canadiens on a Wednesday night? That's just made up but I'd like to see the results.

[kozlodoev]

I heard stuff like "The Celtics are the 4th team in town." "Boston is a Celtics town not an NBA" town.

This is probably true. It's also fine with me.

[Chris]

Not that this is the end-all, be-all, but are there any numbers out there showing their tv share for similar circumstances? For instance, game 2 vs. the Knicks on a Tuesday night vs. Bruins/Canadiens on a Wednesday night? That's just made up but I'd like to see the results.

The problem with this is that it wouldn't be taking into account where things are right now, it would be looking at what they were last season.

I don't think many people would argue that the C's were ahead of the B's until about this past May, the argument is that the B's past the C's with their Stanley Cup run.

I heard stuff like "The Celtics are the 4th team in town." "Boston is a Celtics town not an NBA" town.

This is probably true. It's also fine with me.

Honestly, I am not sure I see how this is a "put down" either.  I think it is just an observation about Boston fans...and a pretty accurate one IMO.