Ex-Sixers announcer Marc Zumoff jumps into Phillies’ booth; why Drew Magary thinks the Eagles will suck

Phillies fans turning in to Sunday’s game on 94.1 WIP heard a familiar voice calling the action, but it wasn’t Scott Franzke.

Marc Zumoff, the longtime television voice for the 76ers, hopped into the booth during the top of the third inning Sunday to call the action alongside Larry Anderson. It was the first time Zumoff has called a live game since walking away from NBC Sports Philadelphia last year, and the first time in his long career he’s had the chance to call a baseball game.

Zumoff said he expected to hang out in the booth with Franzke and Larry Andersen, just like WIP host Angelo Cataldi and 6abc anchor Jim Gardner did during their guest appearances. But when he arrived at Citizens Bank Park Sunday afternoon, he was surprised to find out he’d be handling the play-by-play duties during his half-inning in the booth.

“I had this giant lump in my throat,” Zumoff joked during an interview on WIP Monday morning. “But it was great. Scott’s a friend and a colleague, and Larry Andersen’s like that old pair of jeans you have in the closet. He’s just awesome. So I just settled right in and had a great time.”

It was an easy half inning for Zumoff, with Phillies starter Noah Syndergaard striking out two batters and putting down the Pirates going down in order.

“So the Pirates down one-two-three here in the third. We’ll go to the last of the third, it’s 1-0 Bucs,” Zumoff said to end his stint in the booth Sunday, pulling out the often-forgotten nickname for the Pirates (a play on buccaneer).

Since retiring from broadcasting, Zumoff has been keeping busy. He’s currently the associate director of the Claire Smith Center for Sports Media at Temple, where he also teaches a play-by-play course. Back in July he led a student media delegation to Israel to broadcast the Maccabiah games, known as the Jewish Olympics.

So does Zumoff regret leaving the Sixers job he held for 27 years?

“I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was on the air live for the first time in a couple of years,” Zumoff said. “That feeling came flooding back to me. But I’m in a good place. I wanted to leave before my skills eroded, hopefully I did — that’ll be for others to judge.”

» READ MORE: NBC Sports Philadelphia expected to add Ron Jaworski to Eagles coverage

Drew Magary thinks the Eagles will suck this season, but that’s nothing new

The Defector writer — who quit Deadspin back in 2019 along with most of the staff after the site’s new owners imposed a sports-only mandate — has been ripping the Eagles and its fans since 2011. At least one of those seasons, the Birds won the Super Bowl. In four others, they made the playoffs. So you can’t exactly take Magary’s profane opinions to the bank.

But unlike Birds haters like Colin Cowherd, Magary’s amusing diatribes aren’t meant to be taken seriously. The hatred also isn’t directed solely at Philadelphia, though he is sick of being told locals don’t eat cheesesteaks at either Geno’s or Pat’s ( “No one cares. It’s a sandwich.”) Every season, Magary pens 32 versions of “why your team sucks” and thoroughly enjoys tearing into every team, including his beloved Minnesota Vikings ( “Even Vikings management doesn’t like Kirk Cousins. Who would?”)

“In the prehistoric internet days of 1998, I was on a Sporting News message board and I would troll opposing fans of my favorite team, the Vikings, by posting a lengthy ‘Why the Vikings are better than you’ rant prior to every game,” Magary told the Inquirer in 2019. “The Vikings were 15-1 that season so I had a leg to stand on … until that leg proved to be Gary Anderson’s.”

So what isn’t Magary high on the Eagles this season? For starters, he’s not a huge fan of head coach Nick Sirianni, whom he’s dubbed the “Rest Attacker” for his at-times awkwardly-worded motivational speeches. He also mocked the lack of luck the Eagles have had with their wide receivers, a streak they hope to break this season by pairing first-round pick DeVonta Smith with former Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown.

Despite being “immune to shame,” Magary also outlined the many reasons he hates Philly sports fans, complaining about everything from their love of Lenny Dykstra to the anger they still carry over Joel Embiid not being named the NBA’s MVP last season.

“I’m tired of them worshipping Allen Iverson like Allen Iverson ever won a goddamn thing besides his divorce trial,” Magary wrote. “I’m tired of their stubble. I’m tired of the Wawa discourse, especially when you can find a Wawa in f — Florida if you feel like it … I’m tired of them celebrating kelly green like it can prevent COVID-19.”

Of course, Magary also had some fun at the expense of the Eagles’ NFC East opponents. He dubbed former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz “Outlet mall Brett Favre” and wrote the Washington Commanders started their own cruise “because international waters represent the only place where they and their fans can’t be prosecuted for anything.” As for the New York Giants, Magary thinks the team’s best quarterback “is probably the offensive coordinator” and celebrated the fact they have just one prime time game scheduled this season.

“[T]his roster is still a disaster. Imagine losing Evan Engram and somehow being worse off for it. That’s the Giants,” Magary wrote.

» READ MORE: NBC Sports Philadelphia not being sold after Comcast announces deal for NBC Sports Washington