Thread by @rhetoricality

Just learned that @MarcFarzetta lost his morning gig @975TheFanatic. Mixed feelings, given how I was there at the start of Marc's @SportsRadioWIP career in '05. He works hard & is a nice enough guy, but he's also dishonest & not particularly talented. 1/
inquirer.com/sports/marc-fa…

In the years since I met Marc in '05, I hadn't paid much attention. I left the #Philly area for graduate school and a career overseas, and wasn't surprised to hear WIP hosts throw him an on-air producing credit during an occasional holiday visit. "Good for him," I thought. 2/

But I also recalled how Marc got in the door. He was part of an intern contest & stood out as the eager beaver (some would say "brown-noser") of the pleasant bunch. He was far from the most talented, and the hosts (including the @WIPMorningShow crew) weren't shy about that. 3/

.@thephillyvoice picked up on that part of Marc's success. He's the guy who shows up just for "face time" (or air time, as it is). On one hand, society encourages that sort of iniative. In 2005, the @WIPMorningShow team seemed to find it grating. 4/

phillyvoice.com/how-marc-farze…

Over the years, I've generally shrugged as @MarcFarzetta climbed. He put in his time. He worked REALLY hard. And I have friends at WIP, so I know how thankless (and low-paying) those early years were. But there's another side... 5/

I'm fond of the cliché that the best ability is AVAILABILITY, which is Marc's stock in trade. He won the intern through being there, luck & a little deception. Marc struggled through the Apprentice-ish challenges & flat-out lied on air to take credit for work that wasn't his. 6/

.@MarcFarzetta's solo work was middle-of-the-pack, and after his duo challenge he falsely told the @WIPMorningShow team (and the listeners, as he was on air), that he came up with the idea that won the day (and rave reviews). In truth, he contributed about 10% of the script. 7/

In a competitive, reality-show environment like that, it's hard to expect a ~22-year old to be 100% honest and not take more credit (especially if they can get away with it). It's stuck with me all these years less because of @MarcFarzetta's ethics than something else... 8/

Truth be told, @MarcFarzetta just wasn't that good. He was a run-of-the-mill recent college graduate who liked sports, showed enthusiasm, and had an average voice (and decent hair, believe it or not!). 9/

2 @WIPMorningShow hosts told me I was their choice to win over @MarcFarzetta. I thought a third contestant (Leah) was better. But Marc showed determination. Ultimately, I had to forfeit because work and poor plannning prevented me from driving to Atlantic City at 4 a.m. 10/

In the weeks after, @WIPMorningShow stayed in touch and asked me to do a few on-air bits (with @MarcFarzetta) based on the idea I developed. It would've been nice to win, but I never would've been able to grind for years like Marc to get where he got. 11/

Ultimately, Angelo Cataldi (& probably others) warmed up to the kid they thought was a suck-up. They "groomed him for 13 years." I was surprised @MarcFarzetta got so many hosting jobs (even announcer jobs), which seemed more about gumption than talent. 12/
inquirer.com/sports/wip-ang…

But I guess that says a lot about "life lessons." @MarcFarzetta DREAMED of being a sports media personality. He worked for it. He might've crossed some lines to get there, but most people (myself included) never would've persevered so long. /13

Reading that @MarcFarzetta disappointed Angelo by bolting both did & didn't surprise me. I can't see Marc as a morning show anchor; I'm surprised he landed that gig @975TheFanatic. There was clearly a mentoring component between Marc & Angelo, and it's sad he left that way. /14

It made sense that @MarcFarzetta grew on Angelo and others, and that WIP saw him as a home-grown "investment" as opposed to a raw talent they had to compete to hold onto. That's fair, because he's NOT a rare talent; he's a worker. But he's also more OPPORTUNISTIC than loyal. /15

.@thephillyvoice says he's up working with his team at 3:30 AM, and I buy that. He showed that sort of effort working with me (partly because he didn't have ideas, but that's no sin). So I'm torn about @MarcFarzetta losing his @975TheFanatic gig... /16

On one hand, @MarcFarzetta is a grinder who deserves to work SOMEWHERE. On the other, he's outkicked his coverage & forced his way through a lot of doors. He can afford to work less. It's good that others will get a shot to prove their worth, as he once did. END/17

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