KFAN's PA: COACH KILL BITS AND BOREDOM ...

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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COACH KILL
BITS AND BOREDOM ...

Nothing ground breaking from the eight-minute chat with JERRY KILL today, but a very valuable trip to the campus. You see, it's the first sit-down, face-to-face Gophers' FB coach interview I have done in that building since a couple of times with former DC DAVID GIBBS. And that was a looonnngggg time ago.
Today's step needed to be taken for 9-to-Noon productions, even if Jerry responded to several of my questions with non-answers because he "hadn't watch the film" of today's practice. All good. I got to meet alot of people I had known by name for years but never had taken the time to meet. That was good and even took a step towards having access to private conversations with decision makers so I can become more intimate with what they are trying to accomplish. That stuff is important to me because then I begin to feel the vibe, not just live it fram afar like Casual Football Guy.
I also met longtime 'FAN caller CHRIS FROM BROOKLYN PARK, whose son KIM ROYSTON is a safety for the Gophers. I had chatted publicly and privately with him for almost all of my 13-year run here, but never had met him. He has to be a proud papa -- his son plays football in the Big 10, which in my eyes provides Dad Cred. That was cool.
Maybe the most lasting impression I had since walking into that facility for the first time in about a decade was just how boyish and young the athletes looked. "Baby faces," is the way I put it to AD JOEL MATURI. "How can you rip guys like this, they are babies? Coming off a pro season looking at old-school, curmudgeons like HUTCHINSON and FAVRE these guys glow."
We at the 'FAN are proud to be the new flagship for Gophers' football, and I am glad I finally took time to meet some people who genuinely care about those colors.

http://www.kfan.com/pages/psn_paulallen.html

Go Gophers!!
 

I hope PA gets hooked on the Gophs like he has the Vikings. If anyone knew anything about Mr. Allen, he grew up a Redskins fan. Now he bleeds purple and gold. Would be pretty awesome for both programs (9-noon and Gopher football) if he started bleeding UofM maroon and gold as well.
 

I agree if more KFAN on air personalities come around we should see more positive coverage. IMO, it should help recruiting.
 

4four4 said:
I agree if more KFAN on air personalities come around we should see more positive coverage. IMO, it should help recruiting.
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Um, no. Doubt if they could even find it on the dial. Most kids feel about the FAN like we feel about the Old Neighbor. Highly unlikely that a radio station could aid in recruiting.
 

highwayman said:
Um, no. Doubt if they could even find it on the dial. Most kids feel about the FAN like we feel about the Old Neighbor. Highly unlikely that a radio station could aid in recruiting.
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It could possibly help indirectly. A lot of people on here rip KFAN for not covering the Gophers or just being negative towards the Gophers. I'd bet a lot of recruits come on here to see what the fans are like. If they see us talking about how the media in the Twin Cities is negative towards the Gophers they could possibly be swayed elsewhere. Just a thought.
 


The fact that KFAN will start covering the Gophers will only help the visibility of the program which indirectly will help recruiting. The fact that PA went to Dinkytown and is willing to be more informed as to the differences between the college game and professional football is a good thing. Let's just hope that the U-KFAN relationship starts out on a positive note.
 

it may not help specifically with recruiting, but it sure as hell will help improve the whole minnesota culture towards the gopher football team. So many people only get their info about the team from listening to KFAN, so over the last decade all they have heard is negativity. Maybe some positive thoughts from PA and the likes will help change the minds of some people and get the state more excited about the team, which in turn should create a better gameday atmosphere, which in the end helps recruiting.
 

From my experience, kfan getting gopher football was a must deal. Highschool athletes most certainly listen to kfan. More importantly, it is better to have kfan loving the gophers up than ridiculing them and putting them down.

I left my conversation with PA feeling that he will make gopher football a priority on his show. Why? Because he said he is going to make it a priority and felt bad that he hadn't in the past. I don't know about the whole I feel bad thing but I do know "Sweatberg" will make it a priority.
 

I am not so willing to let the past be the past.

For years and years KFAN has either ignored Gophers Sports or trashed them to no end. The Gophers have been the butt of most KFAN jokes for years and now we are supposed to be happy that they are now going to take them seriously. Come on, my question is why the hell wasn't Gopher Sports more of a priority? I understand they have the Vikings and the Vikings own this state like it or not but that doesnt mean as a sports station they shouldn't cover all the teams with the same amount of interest. They are or were a sports station after all and most people will tune to sports station to hear them talk about all sports not just one or two. The fact that KFAN is now changing their tune is more of an insult than anything. If the Gophers were not important enough to cover in the past why are you now changing your tune to praise them? Just because you own their broadcast rights doesn't mean that the product has changed.
 



WolfontheProwl said:
For years and years KFAN has either ignored Gophers Sports or trashed them to no end. The Gophers have been the butt of most KFAN jokes for years and now we are supposed to be happy that they are now going to take them seriously. Come on, my question is why the hell wasn't Gopher Sports more of a priority? I understand they have the Vikings and the Vikings own this state like it or not but that doesnt mean as a sports station they shouldn't cover all the teams with the same amount of interest. They are or were a sports station after all and most people will tune to sports station to hear them talk about all sports not just one or two. The fact that KFAN is now changing their tune is more of an insult than anything. If the Gophers were not important enough to cover in the past why are you now changing your tune to praise them? Just because you own their broadcast rights doesn't mean that the product has changed.
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+1. What was stopping PA from covering the Gophs before?? There is absolutely no reason to believe that the current crop of KFAN 'talent' is sincere in their coverage.
 

you two need to put on some big boy pants and get over the hurt feelings, its a business decision, and a great one. why wouldn't PA and KFAN cover the Gophers more???? Because there is currently more demand for the Vikings and KFAN didn't have Gopher rights....... pretty simple. Also, certain KFAN personalities were tough on the program, but after the last Brewster season isn't it time to say "maybe they were on to something there". I know I was wrong, I use to hate KFAN for hating on Brew, then after the Iowa game (in Iowa 2 yrs ago) I realized Brew was never going to do anything here and also wanted him out. KFAN was enjoyable to listen to after I got over that hump.
 

ruralgopher said:
There is absolutely no reason to believe that the current crop of KFAN 'talent' is sincere in their coverage.
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It is also reasonable to think that they have not been sincere in their coverage of the Vikings either.

It doesn't matter to me if they are sincere or not, just know the product and make informed comments rather than blather on and make cheap shots without any knowledge whatsoever.

It's not going to alter what I do. If necessary, I will listen to the game on their station if I'm not at the game, or don't have access to a TV. That does not mean that I will listen to that station other than that instance.
 

ruralgopher said:
There is absolutely no reason to believe that the current crop of KFAN 'talent' is sincere in their coverage.
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Ummmm....no reason? How about the contractual agreement to carry the games that the FAN had to pay a lot of money to obtain?

You're probably right though - radio executives never advise and enforce the topics in which their on air personalities will make a priority :rolleyes:
 



WolfontheProwl said:
my question is why the hell wasn't Gopher Sports more of a priority?
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It is fairly standard business practice for ANY business (not just radio) to promote your own product. KFAN now owns the Gopher football product, so it makes total and complete sense for them to promote that product now. They will do longer pre-game and post-game shows, more interviews, more website offerings all with the idea of driving more traffic to their website during the week and many more listeners to their station on Saturdays.

When KFAN's rival WCCO owned the Gopher Football brand, it didn't make that much business sense to openly promote that product. Talk about? Sure. Cover it? Some. Hype it up? Probably not.

This is a key reason I like this move from CCO to FAN. Same goes for hoops and hockey going to 1500. It is in each stations' best interest to "promote" the product. They will hype Gopher sports as a standard practice to push surfers to their webpage and listeners to their station. Those surfers and listeners are sports-minded people who the Gophers are hoping learn to have some passion for the Gophers. In other words, the U is hitting its target audience better now than with WCCO, who also would occasionally hype a broadcast, but not the way an all-sports station can with more time and resources devoted to sports.

And, I think PA's commitment shows that he is ready to promote the station's new product. That is GOOD for the Golden Gophers!

Now, that said, let's not kid ourselves. If Jerry Kill's team goes 1-11 this fall, KFAN's talk guys will still rip away (as they openly rip the Wolves right now, even though the Wolves are on KFAN). And, if it is done in a fair way, I don't think we can argue a lot with that. I mean Gopher fans rip away on this board after each loss, too.
 

I love how I was just quoted by two different people, with neither of them taking my whole quote into context. Again, Why hasn't PA covered the Gophs before? Why was his first trip to TCF for a Vikings game?? This whole thing doesn't ring hallow to anyone else?
 

ruralgopher said:
Again, Why hasn't PA covered the Gophs before? Why was his first trip to TCF for a Vikings game?? This whole thing doesn't ring hallow to anyone else?
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Again, KFAN has exclusive rights to the Vikings, this is where they make their money. The Vikings are currently (and in the past) in MUCH more demand than the Gophers. So a better question would be ......... why would he spend any time covering the Gophers? Think about it with an oz. of business sense.

ruralgopher said:
Why was his first trip to TCF for a Vikings game??
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See my comments above.
 

ruralgopher said:
I love how I was just quoted by two different people, with neither of them taking my whole quote into context. Again, Why hasn't PA covered the Gophs before? Why was his first trip to TCF for a Vikings game?? This whole thing doesn't ring hallow to anyone else?
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It isn't that hard to figure out. The business model has changed now for KFAN. The agenda has shifted. Gopher Football is KFAN's product now. The level of importance for the Gophers has changed. It has gone from a fringe level of importance to a major aspect of the programming the station provides.

Look at is this way. If you're a car dealer and have been able to sell Fords and Buicks, then you would be smart to promote and talk up and hype Fords and Buicks. Your competition down the street sells Chevys. You aren't necessarily going to tell everyone how great Chevys are and devote a great deal of resources to Chevy. Talk about Chevys? Sure. Hype them? No way. Then, Chevy decides to give you the ability to sell their vehicles. As a sales guy, you now better learn all you can about Chevys and begin promoting Chevys, as well. I look at it as smart business, not some sort of hallow slight.
 

ruralgopher said:
I love how I was just quoted by two different people, with neither of them taking my whole quote into context. Again, Why hasn't PA covered the Gophs before? Why was his first trip to TCF for a Vikings game?? This whole thing doesn't ring hallow to anyone else?
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Because he's an NFL guy!!! He openly admits to NOT following the college game, and even gets his drafting info from college-minded folk.

There once was a time where I was an NFL guy, too. If you were to ask me about the Gophs.. I couldn't tell you the name of ANY player on the U's football squad, nor any greats (or that they had won any National Championship). It wasn't until I got closer to campus and started going to the games when my passion shifted.

Ever think that may happen with PA? Jeebus man, don't knock a dude for trying.

Oh, and also, get over yourself.
 

tjgopher said:
It isn't that hard to figure out. The business model has changed now for KFAN. The agenda has shifted. Gopher Football is KFAN's product now. The level of importance for the Gophers has changed. It has gone from a fringe level of importance to a major aspect of the programming the station provides.

Look at is this way. If you're a car dealer and have been able to sell Fords and Buicks, then you would be smart to promote and talk up and hype Fords and Buicks. Your competition down the street sells Chevys. You aren't necessarily going to tell everyone how great Chevys are and devote a great deal of resources to Chevy. Talk about Chevys? Sure. Hype them? No way. Then, Chevy decides to give you the ability to sell their vehicles. As a sales guy, you now better learn all you can about Chevys and begin promoting Chevys, as well. I look at it as smart business, not some sort of hallow slight.
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The car dealership analogy is a great one. If I were a Ford dealership and over the last decade ripped Chevy every chance I got, you don't think customers would raise an eyebrow when suddenly I hang a Chevy banner and start talking about all that is good with Chevy??
 



So, the quality of coverage is directly proportional to how long someone's been doing it?

Okay, I guess. So the Twins flagship isn't as good at covering the Twins as KFAN is because they haven't been doing sports as long. Never mind they have more access, more reporters, etc. etc. and the games on the radio. They can't possibly be as good.

People need to get over the past. If KFAN is more dedicated to covering the program, for WHATEVER reason, I say great. They have seriously stepped up their coverage on all their shows since they got the rights, and I hear more Gopher football talk there than anywhere else on the dial. So, for me, they win. And so does, I also think, the program. They can still get better, and if knowledgable fans call in and talk U football, they probably will get better. Again, I say, good.

But if you want to be bitter because they ripped Mason and Brewster, go ahead. I rip them too. And I like Mason a lot better now than I did at the end of his U coaching career. And its mostly because I heard him on the radio where he could talk about coaching.
 


dpodoll68 said:
Note the "We Are...Minnesota" on Kill's jacket. So stupid. Whoever thought that it was a great idea to try to appropriate Penn St.'s marketing for ourselves should be fired immediately.
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Another reason to fire Maturi.

I remember the first time he tried to lead a group of people in that stupid "We Are Minnesota" 3X chant at the 2002 Music City Bowl I was at. Right when that happened I just dropped my head in embarrassment.

Maturi - How do you think you can get away with crap like that and not have people notice???
 

dpodoll68 said:
Note the "We Are...Minnesota" on Kill's jacket. So stupid. Whoever thought that it was a great idea to try to appropriate Penn St.'s marketing for ourselves should be fired immediately.
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josh087 said:
Another reason to fire Maturi.

I remember the first time he tried to lead a group of people in that stupid "We Are Minnesota" 3X chant at the 2002 Music City Bowl I was at. Right when that happened I just dropped my head in embarrassment.

Maturi - How do you think you can get away with crap like that and not have people notice???
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+2. Not too different than 'Gopher Nation'.

I think we should incorporate Ski-U-Mah into just about everything. It is one thing that is distinctly Minnesota.
 

ruralgopher said:
The car dealership analogy is a great one. If I were a Ford dealership and over the last decade ripped Chevy every chance I got, you don't think customers would raise an eyebrow when suddenly I hang a Chevy banner and start talking about all that is good with Chevy??
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Not really. Especially if it meant the new Chevy dealer was committed to providing better service than my old Chevy dealer. This deal with KFAN and 1500 basically ensures that the Gophers are going to get more coverage, more shows, more airtime, and more hype than they have ever gotten.
 

1. KFAN's negativity to the program in the past is understandable as we haven't been good for some time.
2. However, them being so uninformed, not doing any research many times, and even purposely misleading their listeners was being lazy and unacceptable. Seriously, if you're going to interview Quincy Lewis at least take 5 minutes of your time and research his career.
3. Gopher football on KFAN is a good thing. Getting more coverage and publicity is always good.
 

GophersInIowa said:
1. KFAN's negativity to the program in the past is understandable as we haven't been good for some time.
2. However, them being so uninformed, not doing any research many times, and even purposely misleading their listeners was being lazy and unacceptable. Seriously, if you're going to interview Quincy Lewis at least take 5 minutes of your time and research his career.
3. Gopher football on KFAN is a good thing. Getting more coverage and publicity is always good.
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I agree, I wish they would hire a Gopher czar to co-host with PA (Puffy was that guy).
 



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