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Retirement can be a double-edged sword. For Glenn Ordway, nearly five decades in radio afforded him a comfortable life, but the idle days soon became a challenge. Four years after stepping away from his role at Boston's WEEI, Ordway found himself missing the thrill of connecting with an audience. "I just got bored," he admitted. "You wake up on a Tuesday and ask, 'Do I want to play golf today?' Then Wednesday is Groundhog Day all over again. I needed something to do."
Just over a month ago, Ordway returned to the microphone—not on terrestrial radio, but with 'The Big O Podcast,' available in both audio and video on YouTube. The show features stories, personalities, and interviews from his legendary run at WEEI. Despite joking about being late to the podcasting party, the response has been strong: more than 3,500 subscribers on YouTube and several episodes already released. Ordway is pulling back the curtain on some of Boston's biggest sports radio questions and most controversial moments.
Finding Success in Reconnection
The concept for the podcast took shape three years ago, after Ordway enjoyed retirement through travel and family time. However, two hip surgeries, including one that left him completely immobilized, forced delays. After recovering, he got healthy and lost a significant amount of weight, eventually reaching a point to begin preparations. Now, just over a month in, he says the response has been overwhelming, creating monetization opportunities he didn't have during his first podcasting foray more than a decade ago. "We've already been hit by ad agencies that have contacted us with opportunities," Ordway said. "I heard that after the first week, which is amazing. I thought it would take at least six months."
Listeners want to go behind the curtain and understand why certain things happened, Ordway noted. Radio has trouble doing that because of sponsorships and people who could be affected. Encouraged by early success, Ordway is treating the podcast less like a side project and more like a business. He plans to expand immediately and into 2027. "I'm into current sports. Now, I'm into college football because I have a lot of free time to watch it. So, we're going to do more sports stuff and spin it off into another channel," he said. Additionally, two episodes per week will be Celtics-related, featuring Ordway, his son, and a rotating third person from Celtics media or a former player. In January, he hopes to launch a podcast about wine. "The idea is to be a regular Joe who sells you on certain wines to try and enjoy."
Building a Podcast Audience
Since retiring, Ordway has consumed more podcasts than traditional sports radio, researching best practices for commercial insertion and content development. He also finds podcasts more relaxing and appreciates the room they give conversations to breathe. Drawing from his research, Ordway has taken a similar approach to 'The Big O Podcast' that served him well at WEEI: an unfiltered style of discussion and storytelling that invites listeners into the personalities behind the content. "I'm willing to talk about anything. In the business, there are certain things you just can't say that you want to. Back then, we were open about the behind-the-scenes aspects of the show and station because it was good fodder for the program," he said. "I'm not taking anything to my grave."
As he revisits his WEEI days, Ordway has held court with several current and former personalities, including Christian Fauria, Lou Merloni, John Dennis, Kirk Minihane, and Gerry Callahan. Those conversations led to an opportunity to reunite the popular Boston trio for an exclusive episode in the coming month. Ordway maintains a list of potential guests, each accompanied by a page of stories he remembers, to help him prepare. However, he recognizes not everyone will agree to appear. "I would love to have Rick Pitino on the program. Rick and I had a small conflict where I denied a request for him to appear on my show when he was at Boston University. Then, when he got the job with the Boston Celtics, good old Rick didn't forget that Ordway stiffed him back then," Ordway explained. "I don't want to just put people on that I've had great relationships with. I'd also like to put some on who I've had a terrible time with and reconcile before we find the eternal dirt nap. I'm trying to bring peace to the world."
Learning from Mistakes
Although Ordway still splits his time between homes in Arizona and Boston, his perspective on Boston sports radio has evolved. He continues to listen to both major stations in the market but now follows their content primarily through social media clips rather than extended listening sessions. For someone who was a giant of the format in Boston, Ordway has noticed significant changes since stepping away. "I made the mistake that a lot of others make when you're entrenched in it. When you have twenty hours of time to fill, you need to find every scab off a topic to extend it. Sometimes that can wear on an audience by trying too hard to find a negative," he said. "No offense to anyone doing it. But in today's sports talk radio, there are more fake or pushed hot takes than ever before. There are people killing themselves to find a hot take, draw it out and throw it on the radio. But that's part of the business. It always has been."
Ordway sees a significant difference between hot-take radio and being unpredictable. He believes that sense of unpredictability is missing from today's sports radio landscape. He also says companies have changed how they define success. Whereas Nielsen ratings once served as the primary measuring stick, success now revolves more around protecting revenue and controlling expenses. In retirement, Ordway says he doesn't have many regrets. However, he admits one of his biggest is failing to recognize the importance of building his own brand. "In 2009, when I was negotiating a new deal with WEEI, I had a group that came to me and offered me a deal to become my own brand. It was the group that put together the Dan Patrick Show," Ordway explained. "They wanted me to do a national show and a local show. But it was based on building my brand, not a radio station. If you have a pretty good brand already, spread it out now in digital media. Dan Patrick created a monster of a media operation. Best branding I've ever seen, and one of the greatest regrets of my life was not following Dan's lead. It was a huge mistake."
Ordway may regret passing up that opportunity nearly two decades ago, but he now has another chance to build his brand on his own terms. With decades of stories to tell, relationships to revisit, and a growing audience eager to hear what happened behind the scenes at WEEI, 'The Big O Podcast' has given him a renewed sense of purpose. After nearly 50 years in radio, Ordway has learned that stepping away from the microphone doesn't necessarily mean walking away from the business. "I'm getting back to my old roots, and I'm enjoying it immensely," he said. "Hopefully that comes through to the audience willing to reconnect with an old friend." Sometimes, all it takes is a little time away to rediscover what made you love something in the first place. If early returns are any indication, the best chapters of Ordway's broadcasting career may still be ahead.
Originally reported by yahoo.