By Mark Eckel | Engagement Insider
Ike Reese used to sit at his locker stall near the back end of the Philadelphia Eagles locker room before practice and talk sports with a few sportswriters on an almost daily basis.
It wasn’t just Eagles talk. Reese would give his views on the NBA and how his Lakers were ready to win another title; and then in the next breath lament how his Cincinnati Reds weren’t getting it done with Ken Griffey Jr.
The years have passed, the times have changed and Reese is still talking sports. Instead of in the back of the locker room with a couple of writers, he’s on the airwaves of Philadelphia co-hosting a mid-day sports talk show, and working in Philadelphia television as well.
“I always thought about it during my playing days, even in college,” Reese said after one of his mid-day shows. “Not necessarily a sports talk show, but something involved in sports, maybe as a studio analyst. It was always something I was interested in doing when I was finished playing.”
Reese was a 1998 fifth-round pick of the Eagles out of Michigan State — a draft that included four future Pro Bowl players in Reese, linebacker Jermeiah Trotter, tackle Tra Thomas and kick returner Alan Rossum. He played with the Eagles through the Super Bowl season of 2004 and finished his career with the Atlanta Falcons in 2006.
“There were some options when I was finished playing,” the former linebacker and special teams star, said. “It was a decision I had to make.”
Three of his former coaches, Andy Reid in Philadelphia; John Harbaugh in Baltimore and Jim Mora in Atlanta asked him if he wanted to coach.
“I spoke to all of them,” he said. “And it was tough to say no, especially to Andy and John, for that matter.”
It was another former coach, his defensive coordinator with the Eagles, the late Jim Johnson, that helped him decide.
“In 2007, I came back (to Philadelphia) and was the analyst for the Eagles preseason games,” Reese recalled. “I had a long talk with Jim about what I should do. And, as always, Jim gave me some really good advice.
“Jim told me you have to have a passion for coaching to be a good coach. He thought my passion was to be in the media. It wasn’t that he didn’t think I had the ability to coach, but he wasn’t sure if I had the passion.”
Reese took the advice and began working part-time at what was then 610 WIP, doing shows at night and on the weekends. He became full-time in 2008 and has developed into one of the most popular and most knowledgeable hosts on any of the Philadelphia sports talk stations.
What makes Reese unique from other former athletes is that he knows more than just football. He can talk about the Phillies’ rebuilding project; the 76ers’ “tanking” and even the Flyers’ power play problems as well as, and with as much authority, as anyone on the air.
“I’ve been a sports fan my whole life,” Reese said “So I enjoy what I’m doing, I really do. I mean growing up in Cincinnati, I was a Reds’ fan, well because everyone in Cincinnati is a Reds fan. I love baseball.
“And basketball is really my first love. If I had my choice I would have played basketball, but I was just better in football. I did have to learn a little more about hockey. I wasn’t really a hockey fan growing up. But the Flyers are big here, so I had to do some homework.”
Football is what drives Philadelphia sports talk, however. The Eagles talk goes year round. As soon as the season ends, the fans want to know about free agency and the draft. And Reese is eager to provide the information.
“Being in Philadelphia now a good part of my life I see how the fans here care about their sports,” he said. “I loved it. I loved the way they got into it. It was an easy transition for me.”
And one he plans on doing for a long, long time.
“I really have no aspiration to move on to anything else,” he said of perhaps leaving for that studio analyst position that was once his dream. “I mean if an opportunity arose, I would have to listen. But I really don’t want to be anywhere else, just being a staple of sports in this city is enough for me.”