"I just want to simply say thank you, because without the #OnePride community I wouldn't be able to do what I love, and that is making Detroit sports content for people who give me a chance.” - Jeff Iafrate
My first time hearing and seeing Jeff Iafrate talk about the Detroit Lions was during the early days of Woodward Sports. Jeff co-hosted the morning show alongside the seemingly polarizing Adham Beydoun.
Jeff was suave, level-headed, and possibly, a bit raw. I’m comfortable calling him raw during his start at Woodward because of how far he’s come. Jeff has developed into one of the better hosts and broadcasters in Detroit sports. Maybe it was my jealousy of his full head of hair or the fact that he was constantly being shuffled around at the network, being moved off and back on the morning show.
While I know very little about what happened behind the scenes during his journey at Woodward Sports, Jeff was forced to make a decision. Jeff could stay at, and exclusively talk about sports on Woodward Sports, or build a podcast with his friends. As Jeff said several times since leaving Woodward, “I bet on myself.”
Jeff, who is blocked by Woodward Sports on Twitter, is obviously doing something right. Crunch Time with Jeff Iafrate and Booner, which also features Woodward Sports alums Lukas Klotz and Michael Gentry, dominated a recent Roar Roundup poll asking fans to vote for their favorite Detroit Lions-related YouTube Channel. While the show is relatively new and the poll was far from scientific, the results reflect the passion and support much of #OnePride has for this podcast and their four primary contributors.
I interviewed Jeff Iafrate about the start and rise of the Crunch Time Podcast, his support of the Detroit Lions, and more. Below is a transcript of the interview.
Question: Why do you support the Detroit Lions?
Jeff Iafrate: I support the Detroit Lions for two reasons:
I absolutely love the game of football, one reason being that it's the ultimate team sport. It takes all eleven to execute as a unit.
I love the city and I've always wanted the Detroit Lions to be something that the people of Detroit can be proud of. It's amazing to see it start to come to fruition.
Q: When and why did you start Crunch Time Podcast with Jeff Iafrate and Booner?
JI: I always wanted to have a podcast where there was more of a "talking with your buddies" vibe, but at the same time you learn something every time you tune in. I decided to do it with my best friends in this industry and it's turned into something very fun and enjoyable for all of us.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the Detroit Lions fan community?
JI: I absolutely love the community and how it really does feel like a big family. To me, it speaks to the slogan of the Detroit Lions being "One Pride". Meaning unity. This fanbase has seen the toughest of times together, and it's special that now that same fanbase gets to enjoy the benefits of being patient…for a long time..
Q: What’s your least favorite part of the Detroit Lions fan community?
JI: With any family, comes fighting. I think Lions fans (and every fanbase) can be blinded by the love of their team and it gets to the point where it's hard to be objective for fans. They feel the need to defend every aspect of their team even when it might not make sense, which I do respect, but as a broadcaster it gets hard to have hard, tough, conversations without having push back. But that's okay; it's my job to convince you!
Q What do you try to do different from other channels and why?
JI: On Crunch Time, we have a good mix of entertainment and education, which I do think is important. Especially given it's a night show and most people are winding down from their full-time jobs and want to be entertained while they're relaxing from the realities of the world. But at the same time, I want viewers to leave every show more informed than they were going into it. It's a healthy balance and I think our crew does a good job of balancing that.
We try to be different from other channels by what we bring to the table. Whether it's Booner drinking Kool-Aid after a Lions win or even Lukas going off about some random D2 college prospect nobody knows about. We all have skill sets that I don't think can be replicated.
I also believe we're one of the most active channels in terms of content creation being posted all day seven days a week. I also think our community is special. We take pride in that because without them, we're nothing.
Q: Why should Detroit Lions fans watch Crunch Time with Jeff Iafrate & Booner and subscribe to the channel?
JI: I think people should give us a chance because we take so much pride in every single piece of content we create. Everything has intent behind it. We want to consistently give the best produced content to the people in terms of all Detroit sports coverage. We also have plans to do real-life content soon enough to close the gap on a personal level for the audience to get a better look at who we are outside of the show.
Q: What’s your best piece of advice for fellow #onepride content creators?
JI: My best piece of advice would be to work your absolute ass off, be consistent, and take 10% of what the best in the business are doing. You have to give people a reason to tune into you. If I'm a viewer, I'd ask myself "Why should I dedicate my time to this specific person?" because everytime I get ready to do a show, I'm very aware of that. As long as you constantly look for ways to improve, and continue to grow as a broadcaster, the results will follow. You just have to put your head down and work.
Q: What else would you like to say to #onepride?
JI: I just want to simply say thank you, because without the #OnePride community I wouldn't be able to do what I love, and that is making Detroit sports content for people who give me a chance. I get to follow my dreams because of them. I'll never take that for granted.
Thank you to Jeff Iafrate and the entire Crunch Time Podcast crew for putting out one of the most entertaining and informative Detroit sports shows. Tune in weekdays from 8-10 PM Eastern Subscribe here!
Follow Jeff @jeffiafrate
Follow Crunch Time with Jeff Iafrate and Booner @officialctpod
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