If you’ve ever thought about putting on a thick Delco accent to say some outlandish things about the Philadelphia sports teams and perhaps believe that Tim Walz has what it takes to be the next head coach at Penn State, you might be a WIP caller.
And WIP callers have a special place in the heart of Philadelphia athletes. Bryce Harper and Jason Kelce know the feeling. Harper, the Phillies first baseman, revealed that he drew inspiration for one of his home runs after tuning into WIP and hearing ‘Chuck from Mt. Airy’ wax poetic about the Fightins.
And then there’s Kelce, who shared that in a team meeting, the Eagles listened to a classic WIP rant from ‘Peter the Cop,’ who casually pulled someone over while ranting about the Dallas Cowboys.
Talk about passion.
While Jon Gruden may have some scars from Philly’s WIP sports radio, Kelce has some fond memories.
Now retired, the former Philadelphia Eagles center still has an affinity for WIP and its callers. During the latest installment of his New Heights podcast with his brother, Travis, Jason had to explain WIP to the Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end.
Jason Kelce teaching Travis Kelce about WIP. 🤝
(via @newheightshow) pic.twitter.com/7tYqE3GuHK
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) November 21, 2024
“What the f*ck is WIP?” asked Travis.
Good thing he was sitting down.
“WIP is the local, big sports talk station in Philadelphia,” said Jason.
“So they’re the ones that have been sh*ting on them,” added Travis.
“Well, they control a lot of the narrative,” Jason said. “But I will say, they usually are; I think WIP is oftentimes just a reflection of what the fanbase truly thinks about the team. Sometimes they’re wrong.”
For someone who just learned about WIP, Travis was able to do a perfect impression of your local union worker who calls and claims that Nick Sirianni is “done.”
“They’re usually the loudest fans, which listen — hey, I go on WIP,” added Jason. “I like listening to WIP for these exact reasons. I like hearing those perspectives. But I think, Nick was facing a lot of criticism for the end of last year and early on this year. He made a lot of fourth-down calls that just haven’t gone their way. And he’s faced a lot of criticism for that.
“A lot of fans have been saying, ‘What does he do? He’s not calling plays anymore. What is he doing as the head coach?’ It’s very unfair — and that narrative is starting to flip. Obviously, when you win games, that’s all people care about.”
Now that Travis has learned about WIP, maybe Travis from ‘Cleveland Heights,’ will call in and defend his brother’s former head coach. And perhaps he’ll pepper in some defense for his Chiefs, too, as he and his quarterback aren’t exactly beloved figures in the City of Brotherly Love after Super Bowl LVII.
[WIP]
