Media column: Raiders tired of hearing about Jimmy G on their flagship station, and more notes
By Steve Berman 10 hours ago
One didn't need to possess a keen grasp of media trends or fan engagement to determine, well before the 2017 NFL campaign began, that a strong start, and even stronger year, was paramount for the Raiders to maintain their standing as a local team worth our attention.
It wasn't long ago that Raiders home games were blacked out on television more often than not, and their flagrant wooing and eventual signing of Marshawn Lynch was about as transparent as PR-driven moves get. But if they won at the same rate as they did in 2016, the Raiders would probably weather most of the hard feelings generated by their planned move to Las Vegas.
But the Oakland Short-Timers have proven to be only slightly better than they were before Jack Del Rio came aboard, and even that description could be considered generous. So, a football team that generated a crescendo of buzz last season is now about as noticeable around here as a gnat on 101 during rush hour.
As a result, fair or not, the team and its fans are starting to become disillusioned with 95.7 The Game, the flagship station for the three professional squads currently residing in Oakland. While one of them, the Warriors, won't hurt for attention for the foreseeable future, fans of the A's and Raiders are feeling left out as 95.7's shows have shifted their attention to the the 49ers' new starting quarterback and the Giants' (failed, so far) attempts to land a star player.
At least that's the perception, anyway. And the Raiders are fed up.
According to a source close to the team, the sore feelings began with a contentious interview of Del Rio conducted weeks ago by Damon Bruce. The Raiders were even less pleased with what they heard on the day after Jimmy Garoppolo's first start with the 49ers, a 15-14 win over Chicago — on “Raiders Monday,” no less. The Raiders felt like that day that it was nothing but Jimmy G talk throughout the morning and for the rest of the day.
The list of Raiders guests provided for the station's shows that week, to put it simply, was not exactly star-studded.
It has only gotten worse since, with Garoppolo playing arguably even better in his second start (also a win) while the Raiders squandered an enormous game against the Chiefs. It's gotten to the point now that the Raiders have essentially thrown up their hands, realizing they're fighting an uphill battle with a station still struggling to grow an audience.
However, that didn't stop the Raiders from literally rolling their eyes this week when Bill Romanowski went on the air and declared that Garoppolo is a better quarterback than Derek Carr, an assertion that team play-by-play man/station host Greg Papa didn't necessarily challenge.
While it's understandable that the PR team, whose job is to get the Raiders out in front of people in a positive context as often as possible, is upset, the reasons why the Raiders and A's continue to get the short end of the radio antenna are numerous.
1. Jimmy G is ascending while Derek C is regressing.
2. With all due respect to Stephen Curry, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner or Kevin Durant, there isn't a single job with a higher profile in the Bay Area than “49ers franchise quarterback,” other than perhaps the CEO of Apple during the latest phone unveiling.
3. They've seen the results — there's no sense, at least financially speaking, in trying to become the “KNBR, but for East Bay fans only” station.
4. The A's are the lowest-rated team in MLB, which means acquisitions of useful players like Yusmeiro Petit or Stephen Piscotty will get brushed aside when the Giants are courting more famous players.
5. Don't forget the “beggars can't be choosers” aspect of this. After all, what are the A's and Raiders going to do, try to get out of their contracts with 95.7? The A's wouldn't mind a station that discusses them even occasionally, and that includes their increasingly complicated stadium aspirations. The Raiders have one collective foot out the door and their play-by-play announcer is The Game's star host.
6. Or, to make a long story shorter …
As much as it pains East Bay fans to face this reality, there is no “equal time” rule for sports stations in markets with multiple teams. Unless the A's start winning with a core of players the fans can name without a Google search, or the Raiders perform a miracle over their last three games, all they can do is complain and hope their fans direct their ire toward the team's station instead of the team itself.
raider5
Mr.Guy Doesnt watch the Raiders.
