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From Monsignor Donovan to Philly radio, Joe Giglio a good sport

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From Monsignor Donovan to Philly radio, Joe Giglio a good sport

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Joe Giglio is doing exactly what he always thought he’d be doing.

Kind of, anyway.

Giglio is a sports radio host on WIP in Philadelphia, and on his show, he often comes up with ideas for the Philly teams to improve.

Should they sign this free agent? 

Trade this guy? 

Release this bum?

These are all topics that are discussed on sports talk shows, especially in a town as passionate as Philly.

When Giglio was growing up in Howell, the Monsignor Donovan graduate fully expected to be talking trades and how to build a team, he just thought he’d be doing it with different people.

“I wanted to be a GM,” Giglio said. “Baseball was my first love, but I would have done anything. Then I went to DeSales University and studied sports management because that’s what I wanted to do. In school, it was still what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have a lane. I had an opportunity to do an internship with the Diamondbacks, but there was no easy way to become a GM.”

Without connections, it’s tough to break into the world of professional sports. Giglio was a baseball player growing up and played football at Donovan, but he didn’t have many friends who could get him involved.

And during his college career, Giglio took a radio class as an elective. 

Not only did he enjoy it, he was pretty good at it. 

“I had an opportunity to take an internship with the Diamondbacks,” Giglio recalled. “At the same time, I took a radio class for fun and I fell in love. Most kids played music like you would on any show, but I asked if I could talk sports. When you do shows like that, you have to talk more, which means more work. I tried it. I did it with a buddy and people at school listened. That’s when I got the itch.”

And when he was getting out of college, he needed a job.

He left DeSales with a sports management degree but no job offers.

It was in 2008 and jobs were hard to come by, especially in a field he had no easy way in. 

“My parents and family were very supportive, I was trying but it was in the middle of the ’08 recession,” he said. “Jobs weren’t plentiful in any area, it was tough no matter what you wanted to do. My radio professor asked if I ever thought about doing radio. He said he really thought I could do it. That was always in the back of my head, I had a feel for doing a show. That pushed me to try it.”

Eventually, Giglio found an in.

He entered a contest on New York’s WFAN to win an overnight show on Saturday nights. He ended up winning and it opened up an entire new world for him.

He’s still talking sports and discussing trades, he’s just doing it with fans instead of fellow GMs. 

And growing up in Monmouth County gave him a great leg up for the job.

When you live between New York and Philadelphia, you like a lot of different teams. And that worked well for him when working in New York and Philadelphia.

“Growing up, I loved the Yankees,” Giglio said. “I was born in ’86 and ’96 was the dynasty. Derek Jeter. I loved the Yankees first. Baseball was always first. Other sports organically grew. Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, stars caught my attention. 

“We moved to Howell in 5th grade, I had Fox 29 and Fox 5. So I watched the Andy Reid (Eagles) teams a lot in early 2000s. And when I went to college, it was a weird fandom. I loved the Yankees, but also Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb.”

He eventually got an opportunity to ply his trade in Philly for WIP, and he’s made an impact ever since.

Giglio now hosts a daily show on the all-sports radio station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and he does it alongside Hugh Douglas, who played for both the Jets and the Eagles, two teams Giglio watched when he was a fan.

The chemistry works and the duo have one of the top sports shows in the city.

“A couple years ago, he had a chance to become my cohost and it’s been great,” Giglio said. “I remember him getting drafted by the Jets, and then getting traded to Eagles. 

“We were reshifting, I had an opportunity to be a host on the midday show, Hugh’s name came up. He was in Atlanta, but I knew him, and his post (NFL) career on radio, good guy, good character. I only met him for one hour, he was up here for an event, he worked an hour with me. They didn’t tell me why, but I had a sense of what it might have been. And it’s been great ever since.”

Giglio isn’t afraid to throw ideas out there. If he has a trade idea, he’ll announce it. If he thinks of a way a Philly team could be improved, he’ll share it. 

Sometimes his moves are unconventional, but they’re not hot takes. He always uses reasoning and ideas, and backs up his opinions. He’s not a hot-take host who throws out crazy ideas and then tries to prove he’s right by being the loudest.

He’s calm, happy and his show brings out smart sports talk debates. 

Giglio is every bit the sports fan he was growing up, but now he watches games with a different eye.

“My wife said she’s noticed a difference in my fandom, it’s different,” Giglio said. “It’s not harder, but it’s different because I’m watching a game. When the Sixers are in the playoffs, I want them to win, but half the brain is listening to Barkley talk about (Joel) Embiid. Will we play that audio, and what’s the right discussion? 

“It reinvigorated me when I was watching my kids become fans. They love this, it’s all they know. That’s made it extra fun watching them become fans. When they were little, people asked if I wanted them to be fans. I didn’t want to be that dad, but it’s cool to see them watch games.”

Sports make Giglio happy, but not nearly as much as family.

He is now living just outside Philadelphia in Bucks County with his wife, Julianna, and his two children, Luke, 9, and Emilia, 7.

He also credits his family, which includes dad Glenn, mom Joann and brother Nick with helping him live a dream life.

“I remind myself every day how lucky I am, I have friends who do different things,” Giglio said. “No matter what, I get to talk about sports, I have the best job in the world. The best fanbase in my opinion. 

“I worked in New York and have a lot of friends there, I worked in Baltimore getting reps, I did a few national shows before I had a fulltime job, I did overnights on CBS SportsRadio. I’ve interacted with a lot of fanbases, nothing like the fans in Philly. They live for the teams, that’s the coolest thing as a host. If people care, it makes going to work so much fun. I can’t ask for any more.”

Giglio will take part in a fundraiser “Schwarbomb Squad Watch Party” in Philadelphia on Sept. 25 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Yards Taproom, 500 Spring Garden St. The fundraiser, in conjunction with Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber and his foundation, which helps first responders, military and their families.

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