Andrew Fillipponi discusses this week’s return to radio following the loss of a child
On Monday, 93.7 The Fan afternoon talk show host Andrew Fillipponi returned to his usual afternoon drivetime host chair after an extended absence.
He had missed roughly two weeks over the holidays to stay home with his wife, Amanda, after the loss of their first child. Geno Fillipponi was stillborn at 26 weeks of Amanda’s pregnancy, not long after he was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. That means, had he survived the pregnancy, the left side of Geno’s heart wasn’t going to develop properly.
During his absence, Fillipponi got support from some pretty surprising sources.
“A lot of the guys that I have ripped and criticized the most were the ones that reached out. Which was really bizarre,” Fillipponi said.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin sent a tweet.
Andrew (@ThePoniExpress), I want to pass along my condolences to you, your wife, and your entire family on your unimaginable loss. Everyone in the Steelers organization is keeping your family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
— Mike Tomlin (@CoachTomlin) December 20, 2020
So did Pitt coaches Jeff Capel and Pat Narduzzi.
Andrew (@ThePoniExpress), I am so very sorry to hear the news about your loss. I cannot begin to imagine what you and your family are feeling. Please know that you, your wife, and your entire family are in my prayers. https://t.co/oxK3Z826rC
— Jeff Capel (@jeffcapel) December 21, 2020
Andrew, I am so sorry. The Narduzzi family is praying for you and your family. ???? https://t.co/SIfAF6vx2h
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) December 21, 2020
Lots of others on the Pittsburgh sports scene reached out through texts and emails as well.
“I did not expect that there would be this outpouring of support and love from all walks of life,” Fillipponi said this week. “Not from just peers in the business. Complete strangers. Listeners. People I had never met before. I really did not expect the sports community to reach out the way that they did.”
Many of these people are the same folks who Fillipponi has second guessed and/or called to be benched, traded or fired.
Didn’t matter. Given the situation, their desire to convey a kind word or two was more important than that.
“It put my job in the proper context,” Fillipponi said. “It heartened me to see that professional athletes, a lot of them, they don’t all hold a grudge. There are some things that are bigger than a criticism that a guy had a bad game.”
With the help of Steelers offensive lineman Zach Banner and his B3 Foundation, the radio station had a memorial scholarship fund set up in Geno’s name days before Fillipponi was even back on the air on Jan. 3. To date, it has already raised over $12,000 in funds for prospective communications and marketing students.
“I think he now understands that people really do like him,” said Fillipponi’s co-host Chris Mueller. “I’ve told him that for years. ‘More people like you than you think. You deserve to be respected for the work you put in.’ And I think now he’s coming to understand people really do understand that about him.”
Since he had been open on the air about becoming a father — even the couple’s complications with attempting to conceive in the first place — Fillipponi didn’t feel it was right to hide the fact that the pregnancy wasn’t successfully brought to term.
Or why he was going to be off the show for a while. Or why he shouldn’t use his platform to be a voice and reach out to others who had gone through something similar.
“For a guy who has a reputation of being this bomb-thrower on the air, who goes out there with a poisoned microphone — he is remarkably transparent with things in his life,” Mueller said. “He shares them with the listener. To say that you consider listeners like an extended family. Then he treats them that way.”
The Fillipponis made the news public via social media on Dec. 20, and Andrew announced on the air Dec. 21 that he’d be gone for a while over the holidays so he and Amanda could take some time to mourn.
Upon his return, Fillipponi joked that it was time to jump back on air because Amanda just wanted him out of the house eventually.
Or maybe that wasn’t really a joke.
“Trust me, he’ll be back with all of his hot takes. No doubt. He was full of them the time he was off,” Amanda sighed, describing herself and her parents as playing the role of Andrew’s listeners during his time away from the air.
As a sports talk show host, columnist or television analyst, you expect some things from your audience.
Angry phone calls, nasty emails, mean tweets.
Fillipponi knows all about that. Especially as a host with an approach such as his.
Caustic when he needs be. Acerbic when he wants to be. Never afraid to poke the bear, ruffle a few feathers or whatever euphemism you prefer. Fillipponi is willing to have an unpopular stance or agitate the hometown audience. He’s not fazed if the listeners agree with his opinion or not.
Just so long as they are listening. And engaged.
Good hosts take the negative responses and use them as tools for the show. Or laugh them off. In fact, if you aren’t getting that kind of response from time to time, you’re probably not stoking enough of a reaction in the first place.
A few things are more difficult to deal with from audience members, though. Not to mention the athletes and sports personalities you are paid to put on blast.
Sympathy.
Care. Concern. Genuine human kindness.
Yeesh! I shudder just thinking about it. That stuff is hard to handle in these kinds of jobs.
There’s a comfort in that fourth wall being up. It’s nice living in that second dimension. Just being that “guy on the radio.”
But another part of being a good host is making people comfortable enough to feel as if they know you when the show ends. Even if you tick them off while the microphone is on.
Sometimes that means being transparent in your personal life. In good times and bad.
“Ultimately, we are trying to do the most entertaining show possible. A lot of that stems from who you try to be, as honest as you can be with people. Listeners appreciate that more than anything else.
“I was hurting. We were dealing with something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemies. I thought I needed to tell everybody that … I would never be comfortable not addressing that on the air.”
I asked Fillipponi if, after all the public support he received, he’d still feel comfortable being the same kind of instigator or willing provocateur. Can he still rip into the same coaches, players and fans that had just so graciously reached out during a time of sadness?
Fillipponi didn’t fake his way through the answer with a half-hearted “I’m just gonna be me” response.
“I don’t know yet,” Fillipponi said. “Does this affect how I talk about certain athletes and certain teams? I can’t answer that right now. I’ve had a lot of people tweet me and have asked questions like, ‘How do you feel about Tomlin now?’ On a personal level, of course, I have more respect for him. How couldn’t I? Anybody who was in my position who said otherwise would be taking themselves way too seriously.”
For his part, Mueller hasn’t noticed a change in his on-air partner during the first week back.
“I think he’s been himself. I think (being on air) has been a sanctuary for him. Being back doing what he loves to do. I haven’t noticed a change in tone or a willing to address — or not address —certain things,” Mueller said. “I would say, if anything, (the show) has been more lighthearted and fun and joking.”
Amanda is a sports fan, too. And, in her own way — as a West Virginia University graduate — she is struggling with the concept of sympathy in the public eye. And from very public people.
Especially with the way Narduzzi and Capel sent regards.
“Man, I can’t hate Pitt any longer,” she quipped. “I really appreciated them reaching out.”
Again, Amanda said it with a laugh. But, again, you could tell she meant it.
A few days after Geno passed, the Fillipponis and Amanda’s parents got out of the house. They went to one of the few spots that was open downtown during the lockdown, the Tako “igloos.” All Amanda wanted was “a change of scenery” and to have a laugh.
“At the same point, I almost feel guilty if I look happy, being in the public eye,” Amanda admitted.
She shouldn’t. She should feel fine about it. That’s part of getting back to normal.
And Andrew should feel fine about saying what he’s thinking on the air, unencumbered by some sense of guilt or obligation to tamp down an opinion.
My guess is that, in time, he will. And my guess is that time will be short.
Hey, there’s a Steelers playoff game to recap Monday. No quicker way to get back to those “hot takes” with a full audience — beyond the in-laws — than that.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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