Gregg Giannotti of the CBS Sports radio show “Morning Show with Boomer & Gio” has some rather unkind things to say about a couple of popular Tampa Bay Lightning personalities and the fanbase as a whole.
There is an old saying which rings very true right now. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. The good news is, no one is forced to agree with the said opinion and has every right in the world to call someone to the carpet when their opinion is a bit on the ludicrous side.
So…exactly what could we be talking about? Things have been going pretty well for the Tampa Bay Lightning as of late, haven’t they? Well…apparently, there are still some people in the world who don’t think too highly of one of the most skilled teams in the National Hockey League right now.
After the Lightning defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2 in Game One of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the sports world was abuzz with thoughts and analysis of the Lightning’s success. Unfortunately, there was one radio show in particular which, instead of discussing the matter at hand, decided to take shots at two incredibly popular Lightning personalities, and the whole of the Lightning fanbase as well.
The radio show in question here is “Morning Show with Boomer & Gio,” a part of the CBS Sports family. Co-host Gregg Giannotti found this to be the opportune moment to discuss his distaste for Lightning Radio announcer Dave Mishkin and Lightning founder Phil Esposito.
“I think it’s totally unprofessional. I think it’s disgusting,” Giannotti said about the excited way Mishkin calls a Lightning goal. “I hate listening to it. He just screams, he’s got no technique, and he probably, even though he’s a legend and I don’t want to knock his playing career or anything, he’s got the worst color commentator in the history of broadcasting as well.”
He goes on to say how confident he is that Dave Mishkin and Phil Esposito are “the worst sports radio broadcast play-by-play in the country.” Those of us here in the Bolts Nation may very well be a little biased when it comes to our announcing team, but we wouldn’t trade Mishkin and Esposito for anyone.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Unfortunately, Giannotti wasn’t done there. In addition to insulting two of the most popular personalities in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, he decided to go in on the Lightning fans as well.
“It’s a joke. It really is a joke,” he continues. “Because it’s the Tampa Bay Lightning and there isn’t a person on Earth that cares about their radio broadcast, it goes unnoticed, but it is horrendous. And if I was anybody who had any sort of power there who can control that, those two guys would be out of there like that,” he says with the snap of his fingers.
When his co-host, Boomer Esiason, goes on to mention the locals and how they probably like the broadcast, Giannotti makes a crack about “the seven fans that are down there paying attention to the Lightning.” This, right here, is where we call foul.
How in the world are you going to take shots at a fanbase you seemingly know very little about? It’s not like the Tampa Bay Lightning is selling out the Amalie Arena in the regular, right? There’s never a sea of blue in the stands cheering on their favorite hockey team, is there?
Do you want to know what the Bolts Nation is really like? Here’s a look at the Bolts Nation after Lightning forward Ondrej Palat scored the first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Bolts.
First goal of the #StanleyCup Playoffs. @amaliearena? ELECTRIC. 🚨#TBLvsNJD | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/zK6faefbfc
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 13, 2018
Either we’re hearing (and seeing) things, or that’s a lot more than just seven fans there, sir. Oh, and let’s not even bring up the fact the Tampa Bay Lightning ranked sixth in attendance this season according to ESPN’s NHL Attendance Report.
The best part of this whole ordeal is the response from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
https://twitter.com/TBLightning/status/985194688108990465
The only thing on the minds of the Tampa Bay Lightning right now is to continue to play the way they have over the course of the first two games of the postseason, take things one game at a time, and continue working towards their ultimate goal of bringing Lord Stanley’s Cup back to the Sunshine State where it belongs.
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As a friend once said, the best way to exact revenge is to continue to be the best you possibly can and make them eat every single word they ever said about you. If the Lightning stays on their current path, there will be a feast of crow when the final buzzer of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals sounds.