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Glen Macnow’s Retirement Leaves a Big Hole in Philadelphia’s Sports Media Scene
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After 31 years on the air, longtime WIP host Glen Macnow will broadcast his final show Saturday morning with co-host Mike Sielski, ending a remarkable career as one of the most trusted Philadelphia sports journalists this city has ever seen.
Anthony wrote a fantastic piece three months ago when Macnow announced his July 13th retirement, which I highly suggest you read. It showcases everything about Macnow that made him a special sports talk host; the experience he brought into the full-time WIP position when he started in 1993, his extensive newspaper journalism career prior to joining the airwaves, and his relationships with the talented co-hosts he worked with through the years.
It’s the end of an era for a breed of sports talk host that this city will sorely miss. A host with bona fide journalism chops, someone who could expertly craft a three-or-four hour show around topics that would engage callers without feeling cheap, without feeling like he was throwing out an opinion he didn’t truly believe in for the sake of argument or to light up the phone lines.
He never charted pointless training camp completion percentages in the name of “journalism,” never barked for the trade of a superstar just months into a decade-long contract, or tried to pass himself off as “one of us” when he was really a New York fan…
Nope. With Macnow you’d find more Seinfeld trivia during a show than bloviating hot takes. More food hunts and beer talk than screaming at callers. More opinions on TV shows and movies than contests and gimmicks (though I will never forgive Macnow and then co-host Steve Martorano for spoiling the death of Omar in season five of The Wire mere days after it aired. You’re killing me, fellas).
I will say this about the food hunts….they were always a highlight, mainly because Macnow would inevitably invite John Chaney to participate as a judge and the show would quickly devolve into the esteemed Temple Owls basketball coach completely taking over the proceedings. Chaney yelling at Macnow and calling him a dummy for his choice in hot sandwiches was always welcome radio.
He’s a dying breed. Sure, Al Morganti, Rhea Hughes, and Jody Mac are still somewhat in the mix at the station, but the sports talk landscape in this city is now dominated with a less informative brand of show, focused more on attention seeking antics and “bits” than, you know, the actual sports talk. On the rare instance I actually listen to sports talk anymore in this city I feel like the host is always just a tick away from asking an intern to ride the Sybian to win new breast implants.
But his best quality? One that few hosts in this city actually have? You could tell that Macnow truly cared about what he was talking about. There’s an ever-present, greasy slick feeling of phoniness over every show now, an unwanted, oily film that coats your brain and leaves you with a gross feeling inside after listening.
There’s no way they mean any of this… is something that I would wager quite a few listeners have found themselves thinking over the past few years.
With Glen? You didn’t get that. He was real. You could tell he always meant what he said, that he didn’t try to pass off a tired radio schtick as his true personality, that he was his genuine self on and off the air.
In a world of Philadelphia sports talk hosts clamoring for attention with hacky premises and fraudulent nonsense, Glen was anything but. He was himself for 31 years and that was all that mattered.
Good luck, Glen. Enjoy the retirement, enjoy the acting, and enjoy the beer. You will be missed.
I have no merits or accomplishments worth noting. Founder of Philadelphia's most trusted sports blog, The Coggin Toboggan. Can I just take a minute of your time to share the good word about our lord and savior Jesus Christ?