Philadelphia Sports Personalities Draw a Crowd for a Cause

People came wearing all types of Philadelphia sports regalia. You name it, Phillies' caps, Eagles' sweatshirts, Flyers T-shirts, even a few in 76ers' gear, they had it on. They assembled in the auditorium at Boscov’s in the Granite Run Mall, there to meet two Philadelphia sports personalities, take in a free movie, consume some free food—and help a very worthy charity, the Family and Community Service of Delaware County, a non-profit that last year serviced 17,000 people with food assistance in the Delaware County area.
 
Serving as hosts Wednesday night were 610 AM WIP radio sportstalk hosts Glen Macnow and Ray Didinger, a long-time Philadelphia sportswriting legend and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Macnow and Didinger were there to promote/sell copies of their book, The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies, while treating 200 or so fans to a viewing of the sports classic, Hoosiers.
 
The idea was the brainchild of Trish Fulvio, an event planner who’s worked with Macnow and Didinger in the past.
 
"I was looking for a way for a visibility type of event, using something we call a friend raiser, not a fundraiser," Fulvio said. "I immediately thought of Glen, Ray and their book. They’re two of the nicest people in the Philadelphia media, they’re class guys who like to talk to people and they’re also two of the nicest people you can come across in the area."
 
Macnow and Didinger signed books for roughly an hour, then spoke to the crowd for another 45 minutes, talking about sports movies in general and what gems they mined in researching the book, like Gene Hackman wasn’t the original choice to play Coach Norman Dale in Hoosiers and how the studio thought Jack Nicholson would have been a better choice. Macnow and Didinger also revealed that the two stars of Hoosiers, Hackman and Dennis Hopper thought the movie would be a bomb. Little did they know.
 
But overall, it was a fun time for everyone who attended, and a fun time for the two special hosts.
 
"This was a great event, something Ray and I looked forward to and were pleased to do," said Macnow, who hosts the Saturday 10 a.m.-1 p.m. slot on Saturdays at WIP with Didinger. "It's a charity event with free food and a great movie, and the weather is breaking, so it’s a nice time to get out. You couldn’t have asked for a better situation. You couldn't ask for a greater privilege than with working with someone like Ray. I loved doing this. One of the elements of radio is that you don't see your audience, you don't see who's out there listening to you sharing thoughts. This was a great event, and it went to an important charity."