» Breaking The Fourth Wall: In Memory of John Marzano

- Breaking The Fourth Wall: In Memory of John Marzano
  
  A post about Columns by yatesy on April 21st, '08
  
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- “He understood that Philly fans embrace hardworking athletes. Whether they win or lose, it is always the 100% effort that the fans were looking for.”
  
  In the world of local television sports reporting, the faces do not stay the same from year to year. Reporters, much like radio disc jockeys, bounce around from city to city, plastering on their fake smile and showing some kind of enthusiasm that almost always feels somewhat plastic. Rarely do reporters or commentators show the zeal and love of the local teams that homegrown fans proudly display every day of the week, and especially on game day. However, when a local, homegrown guy gets a chance to speak to the masses, it makes the fans feel like just as much love of the local teams is in the studio.
  
  John Marzano was a local guy from South Philly who was a star catcher in high school, a silver medal winner in 1984 for Team USA and a catcher for the Red Sox, Mariners and Rangers. He was always proud of being from Philly, and talked about it wherever he went. Philadelphia sports fans are forever being demonized by the media in other cities as rude, bloodlusting thugs.
  
  John grew up in a hardworking middle class neighborhood and knew it wasn’t bloodlust, it was passion. Philadelphia is a working class city with 4 major sports teams. He understood that Philly fans embrace hardworking athletes. Whether they win or lose, it is always the 100% effort that the fans were looking for. It is, for all intents and purposes, the key to the hearts of Philadelphians everywhere.
  
  In his reports and commentating on Comcast Sportsnet, he was always cheering the teams on, rooting for everyone to give it their all for the city. He laughed and goofed around, cracking up his coworkers on live television with his enthusiasm and general silliness, popping into live shots with his wide smile while someone was giving a serious report, or whipping up an already rabid Flyers playoff crowd just the other day during the Flyers Pre-Game show on Comcast. He always seemed like he was born to be in front of the camera, a natural born ham that everyone loved having around.
  
  So, you can call him a Fan’s Fan, you could call him an Ambassador Of The City, go ahead and give it a name. But with his untimely death yesterday at his home in South Philly, call it what it is: a tragic loss for his family, his friends, his coworkers, the teams he loved and the city who saw a bit of themselves in him every time he popped up on television. A true fan and city representative and we were lucky to enjoy him while here was here. Somewhere, I am sure, he has got to be cheering us all on.
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2 Responses to “Breaking The Fourth Wall: In Memory of John Marzano”
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