KOA’s passive fascism has taken them out of the sports talk game in Denver
“Stations like the Fan and Mile High Sports have tapped in to the way things are now and KOA is being left behind by an embarrassing margin.”
Paul Harvey was a mainstay of KOA radio for years. His homespun brand of kindly conservatism echoed a simpler time: the “good ol’ days” when stodgy, right wing extremism hid itself under a kinder and gentler facade. The alarmist, reactionary drivel it is today is a far cry from those simpler times and if you listened to Paul Harvey in the last century, you heard the last gasp of conservative talk radio before it became the fear mongering joke it is now.
KOA was also the Denver home for sports. Long before many different choices in sports talk radio became the norm, KOA was the only place to not only hear the games, but talk about them as well. But that’s no more. After years of cramming the faux-conservo outrage of Rush Limbaugh and his mindless minions down radio listener’s throats, the average sports fan has moved on from KOA. Sadder even still is that the radio giant hasn’t realized it yet.
I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh. Partly for what outrageous thing he was going to say, but mainly because that’s what you did in 1993. There was no 104.3 The Fan or podcasts to help while away the hours, so you turned on KOA and either agreed with the viewpoints being put forth or disagreed, just to get riled up.
There was a dialogue back then and even though KOA was a supposed “conservative” talk station, people of all backgrounds could discuss and debate the topics of the day. But not anymore. Now KOA is chock full of conservative snake oil salesman who would rather forward a carefully crafted ideology that they may or may not believe in personally, just to stay in character and with the party line. Like a Stephen Colbert that isn’t in on the joke, these people will go to their grave to cling to an out dated way of thinking just for a buck.
There are KOA promos during Rockies games that just featured people shrieking things like “WE CAN’T TRUST THE GOVERNMENT!” I’m no political expert, but I don’t seem to remember those running during the last administration. Whatever. I won’t tell KOA where their political affiliation should lie, but I will question whether these promos are in good taste, and whether they are alienating an entire group of sports fans, especially during Broncos and Rockies game.
People of all stripes love sports and every kind of person will tune in to hear games. Sports are an egalitarian pursuit that has fans of all beliefs, colors and backgrounds, and it seems odd that KOA would risk turning off potential customers by shoving its desperate right wing agenda down the sports fan’s throat who’ve come to listen to a game. It’s certainly turned me off from tuning in to games on the radio because sports should be the one area that it doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is. Two fans can be on the polar opposite of the political spectrum, but if they both root for the Rockies, they’ve found common ground.
And again, if my political leanings are in question here, remember, I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh and can handle a little healthy opposition to my beliefs. What I can’t stomach is irrational, fear mongering that KOA has used as its bread and butter for many years. And by going down this road, KOA has virtually excised itself from the sports conversation in Denver. Yes, it’s the home of the Broncos and the Rockies, but is no longer considered a viable place to hear sports talk because of its foreign oil-like reliance on the passive fascism of its regular neo-con programming.
Did you know there is a sports talk show on in the afternoons on KOA? Probably not. Because if you’ve been turned off by the irrational sabre rattling of conservative talk radio, you wouldn’t think to turn KOA on at this time. After avoiding Limbaugh and the poor man’s Glen Beck, Mike Rosen, you probably wouldn’t think to turn it on unless of course you like your sports talk spiced up with a little Muslim hysteria during the breaks. And it’s too bad there is nothing but Fracking ads, morons shrieking about the government and pleas to buy gold to turn you off, because I can’t think of two more knowledgeable sports minds than Dave Logan and Dave Krieger. But ask anyone what they listen to at this time of the day and the name D Mac is going to come up more often than Obama and Benghazi combined.
And then there’s a full three hours of sports talk on after that with Andy Lindahl. THREE HOURS! I don’t know a single person who has listened to this and it’s a shame because I’m sure it’s good based on KOA’s track record for covering sports, but because of its track record for promoting fear, no one listens to it. I know many people from various political backgrounds and outside the games that are broadcast on KOA, they don’t listen to the station for its sports programming. And like how the newspaper industry was blindsided by the digital age, KOA hasn’t adjusted to the way sports is covered and has been given a standing eight count.
And don’t give me ratings argument. Radio ratings are more corrupt than the government (WE CAN’T TRUST THEM!!!!). If there’s one thing we here at South Stands Denver are clued in on, it’s the pulse of what the younger sports fan is paying attention to. And it’s not KOA. If you’re getting your daily sports info from KOA you are certainly over 50 and probably much older. That’s fine, but like Limbaugh’s ratings, this is a (literally) dying demographic and does not represent sports media today. Stations like the Fan and Mile High Sports have tapped in to the way things are now and KOA is being left behind by an embarrassing margin.
People will always tune in KOA for Broncos games because Dave Logan is just that good. But with HD and expanded NFL TV coverage and even satellite radio, the listenership certainly has to be eroding. Couple that with irrational and inflammatory right wing radio programming and alarmist ads, and it’s a ready-made mix of the younger (and future) radio listeners moving on. I know the KOA signal reaches far and wide, but when everyone has died off who listens, will it really reach anyone? It’s the tree falling in the woods, but KOA will insist it still makes a noise even though no one is listening.
Conservatives are always pining for the “Good ‘Ol Days” and selling the delusional notion that those times are something we can return to. But what about the “good ol’ days” of KOA? The right wing fantasy of an America that doesn’t exist anymore is a pipe dream, but the KOA that was known for sports and not alienating sports fans from all walks of life is attainable if they’d just realize the current programming and mindset has pushed them away. So until KOA realizes the dead end it has rammed up against for the last 15 years has completely taken the station out of the sports talk game in Denver, I have to use the immortal words of Paul Harvey and say to KOA, “Good Day”.
