{"id":840903,"date":"2026-09-22T05:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T05:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/840903\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T05:30:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T05:30:15","slug":"how-joe-giglio-took-philadelphia-sports-best-what-if-questions-from-94wip-into-his-first-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/840903\/","title":{"rendered":"How Joe Giglio Took Philadelphia Sports’ Best “What If” Questions From 94WIP Into His First Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

There isn\u2019t much that Joe Giglio<\/a> hasn\u2019t done during his career in sports media. From writing for Bleacher Report and other outlets to hosting national radio programs, Giglio currently calls middays on Philadelphia\u2019s SportsRadio 94WIP home. For the past three years<\/a>, alongside co-host and Philadelphia Sports Hall of Famer Hugh Douglas, the tandem has witnessed the highs and lows of sports in the \u2018City of Brotherly Love.\u2019<\/p>\n

Every individual market has its own unique elements. What defines Philadelphia sports is, without question, a level of passion unlike any other market in the country. Every play, loss, win and hire earns the maximum spotlight. Creating plenty of questions surrounding nearly every aspect of Philadelphia sports. Those questions led Giglio to conceptualize a new venture. Writing a book about some of the biggest \u201cwhat if\u201d questions in Philadelphia sports history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first time I\u2019ve written a book. It was challenging in a unique way,\u201d explained Giglio. \u201cThe fun part was each chapter was its own thing. So, it didn\u2019t feel overwhelming. The idea of writing a book when I first came to an agreement to do it did feel overwhelming. Can I really do this on the side of a full-time job? But I went one chapter at a time, which made it less challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Journey To Publication<\/p>\n

Giglio is no stranger to the written word. He\u2019s published articles and columns for several publications over the years. However, shifting from a single piece of 1,000 words or less to more than 65,000 words gave him a newfound respect for authors in the process.<\/p>\n

The new book, titled What If? Tackling the Biggest Unanswered Questions in Philadelphia Sports History<\/a>, asks many of the same questions that come up regularly among Philadelphia sports fans. Giglio takes a historical perspective. Examining what might have happened if a pivotal moment had gone in the opposite direction and how the fallout could have changed the impact of the moment itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought \u2018what if\u2019 questions tend to linger. The ones I put in the book always come up a lot. But there\u2019s no right or wrong answer for them because we have no idea,\u201d said Giglio. \u201cThere are 25 different \u2018what if\u2019 moments in the book. Five to seven immediately came to mind. Others I had to go back and think, \u2018People aren\u2019t thinking about this.\u2019 But something happened along the way that would have changed a lot about Philadelphia sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

From asking what if the Philadelphia Athletics never left town to examining what might have happened if a penalty flag thrown in the Super Bowl hadn\u2019t been used, Giglio provides his perspective on how those events could have changed the landscape of Philadelphia sports.<\/p>\n

Each hypothetical is its own story, utilizing research and events from the past to craft a narrative about an alternative future. Giglio did it without artificial intelligence playing a role in shaping his potential outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a big user of AI. In the contract with the publishing company, it included a clause not to use AI. I\u2019m not sure if that is a thing with this publishing company or becoming a bigger thing all around,\u201d noted Giglio. \u201cEverything I created was literally from my head and what I thought could happen. But I am interested in asking AI about the same \u2018what if\u2019 questions to see if its outlook would match mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process took Giglio a year and a half, with nine months dedicated to writing. Finding a balance between writing the book, hosting a daily radio show and maintaining his home life as a husband and father became part of the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed it, and can see myself doing it again,\u201d said Giglio. \u201cI have thought about variations of this book. When I was going through it, I thought this is Philadelphia\u2019s version of this. But think about how many NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball \u2018what if\u2019 questions there are. I could see myself doing something like this, but I haven\u2019t landed on a yes or no.\u201d<\/p>\n

King James Impact On Philadelphia<\/p>\n

With a mid-October release scheduled, the book will become available to the public around the same time another Philadelphia \u201cwhat if\u201d question will begin to be answered. For much of the summer, Philadelphia sports fans asked themselves: What if LeBron James signed to close his career here?<\/p>\n

After months of speculation, James announced <\/a>in July that he would be taking his talents to the Philadelphia 76ers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were live on the air when the LeBron James news broke. It was nuts. The excitement and tone of the listeners was palpable. It was a combination of the world\u2019s most famous athlete choosing Philadelphia, plus the 76ers now having an actual chance to win a title,\u201d said Giglio.<\/p>\n

With James now playing in Philadelphia, Giglio admits the content approach and balance will change somewhat as the 76ers and Eagles compete for attention. While others in the market may approach content as a 50\/50 split between the Eagles and 76ers, Giglio doesn\u2019t feel James\u2019 presence should cause such a drastic change in the content model for fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sixers are kind of just there till the Eagles are done. During the NFL season, you keep an eye on them because it\u2019s all focus on the Eagles. This season will be different because we\u2019ll have two eyes on the Sixers, not just one,\u201d explains Giglio. \u201cWe\u2019ll certainly talk more about the 76ers, and it will make the discourse when we get into February and March better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding A Formula For Succes<\/p>\n

Giglio leans on the audience to help navigate the direction of the content. He sees each listener as a customer. If they want to discuss the Eagles, the program obliges with content designed to satisfy that demand. Giglio says the formula works, and the ratings prove as much. While there is criticism on social media and competing radio stations about the content mix and approach, Giglio doesn\u2019t tend to give it much attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI let the audience tell us what they think is right,\u201d said Giglio. \u201cWith so many ways to consume our content today, I do wonder about the entry point for those who criticize. Is it someone who listened to the full context of the conversation, or is it something they caught in their algorithm? I do know that the audience we know is there for our show likes what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

With so many avenues for discovery, providing engaging content is vital for future growth and success. While he\u2019s never considered elevating to a brand manager position, Giglio remains a student of the industry. He understands that audiences coming to radio on their own are no longer something broadcasters can count on in today\u2019s media landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great that a lot of sports radio brands have moved to putting their content out there, and everywhere. People aren\u2019t going to seek you out unless you\u2019re part of their routine. You have to throw yourself at them, and maybe they\u2019ll stick around with you,\u201d said Giglio. \u201cI think we\u2019ve found a lot of great avenues as an industry. But now it\u2019s about finding ways to stabilize it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Giglio, that search for stability in a changing media landscape comes back to the same thing that inspired his first book: the questions.<\/p>\n

Every day on the radio, Philadelphia sports fans debate what happened, what could have happened and, inevitably, what might happen next. Those conversations have fueled Giglio\u2019s career behind a microphone and now, in a different way, on the page.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people enjoy going down paths they may not have expected,\u201d says Giglio. \u201cI like to read. A lot of sports books I read, you know what happened already. You know the ending. The one thing about my book is you don\u2019t know the ending. Take the ride and see where it goes. Then I close by asking if it would have been worth it to change the moment, for the good or the bad. It\u2019s reflective in the end and asking a \u2018what if\u2019 to the reader that I enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

What If? Tackling the Biggest Unanswered Questions in Philadelphia Sports History gives Giglio the opportunity to take those conversations beyond the immediacy of the daily sports cycle and explore the possibilities that have lingered with fans for decades. There may never be definitive answers to those questions, but perhaps that is precisely why they continue to matter.<\/p>\n

In a city where every game can create a new argument and every decision can become part of sports history, there will always be another \u201cwhat if.\u201d Giglio simply decided to take some of Philadelphia\u2019s biggest questions, step beyond the immediate answer and give them the time, research and imagination they deserved.<\/p>\n

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There isn\u2019t much that Joe Giglio hasn\u2019t done during his career in sports media. From writing for Bleacher…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":840904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3769],"tags":[679,99439,99440,2126,40719,26865,26866,7,99441,5442,99442,185,1203,6,9,678,207,2016,6526,443,99443,3817,99444,15768,7074,99445],"class_list":["post-840903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia-76ers","tag-76ers","tag-94wip","tag-94wip-middays-with-hugh-douglas-and-joe-giglio","tag-ai","tag-audacy","tag-barrett-media","tag-barrett-sports-media","tag-basketball","tag-hugh-douglas","tag-jalen-hurts","tag-joe-giglio","tag-lebron-james","tag-mlb","tag-nba","tag-nfl","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-philadelphia-flyers","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-philadelphia-sports-radio","tag-philadelphia76ers","tag-publishing","tag-sports-features","tag-sports-radio","tag-sportsradio-94wip"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117313052574320632","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}