The Power Of Sports: How To Score Big Wins For Fans And Podcasters Alike With Kevin Warren Of Sports Chasers Podcast

Wish you were one of those influencers with raving fans who binge on your every word, consume all your content, buy everything you have to sell, and demand even more. Then stay tuned while Authority magazine columnist and buzzfeed contributor Tracy Hazzard shares strategies, tips and tactics from top videocasters, podcasters, authors and social influencers on creating that bingeable factor. Now let's join Tracy as she explores how to rise above all the digital noise with the Binge Factor.

Hey everyone.

Welcome to the Binge Factor. I'm Tracy Hazzard and I am got a sports theme going on. This next couple of weeks here, I've got two sports shows in a row.

One of them is one of my.

Clients and I love, love, love this.

Show, the Sports Chaser Podcast.

Sports Chasers Podcast.

Yep, plural. I love it because it's a compilation of a group of guys talking about sports.

It's anti broadcast media in a good way. And Kevin works his butt off on this show. So Kevin Warren, the host of the Spirit Sports Chasers Podcast, is my guest today. And you know, I don't love to feature my own clients here because it.

Makes me feel a little uncomfortable when they gush a little.

So you're gonna have to excuse that when that happens in this episode. But I really truly value what Kevin does on our platform because he's using the do it yourself side, the SaaS side of our platform at Pottitize, and.

He'S just killing it with his show. He's doing such great things and he's.

Always participating in our coaching calls and.

I couldn't not take a look at his show for you because he's using.

It exactly how I imagined he would. He's using our portal the way that it should.

He's getting bigger and better things and he's growing his show bit by bit.

By bit as he utilizes everything we have to offer. And that makes me really proud. So I had to feature his show, but he's got a really unusual show.

And you're going to want to hear all the things that he puts into it and all the thought that he puts into it.

And the group that he has is quite something to manage as well. So Kevin has a long lifetime of sports. Love baseball, basketball, football, hockey, golf, tennis. And he is the buttoned up one on the show, although I'm going to say not that buttoned up. And in a totally good way.

He keeps the show flowing while his co hosts have spirited and engaged discussions.

On all sports matters.

He's intrigued by all levels of sporting.

Competition, from amateur to pros. He's a native New Yorker from the.

Borough of Brooklyn, and his favorite sports.

Team is the New York Yankees, the New York Giants, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Surprise and prize. And I come from and grew up in Connecticut just across the border, and grew up in a family of big New York sports fans as well.

So we had a lot to talk.

About and a lot in common. But his favorite sport is baseball, as is mine, and he played football and basketball in high school, and he's a.

Weekend warrior on the golf course.

He attends several sporting events a year.

And he started the Sports Chasers podcast.

To ensure that all sports get coverage.

Along with their participants.

Kevin is most notable quote about sports.

Is sports is everything. And it brings people together, win, lose or draw. But he calls his show, and this is the most brilliant thing, the part that I love the most, that the sportschasers podcast is the Defender of the Fans. He sets out his premise for a show right at the beginning, and everything else follows from there. So let's hear it for Kevin L. Warren and the Sports Chasers Podcast.

Kevin, Sports Chasers Podcast. I love that name, I have to say. And your byline is Defenders of the Fans. I think that's a brilliant angle. You're stating right out there what your mission is.

How'd you come up with that?

Currently, I have six co hosts, which is a challenge, as you might add. It is. We came up with the Defender of the Fans because as a sports fan, myself, enthusiast for years and years about sports, I wanted to have a podcast or something where we can have our voice, where regular people, I should say regular people can have their voice. And we defend what their views and their focus is on the world of sports, whether it be baseball, football. That's where we're at with that. And that's what we came up with, that.

And you're pushing up against what you guys call programmed sports. And I didn't really realize it until I started, like checking out your show and really listening into it, that there is something seriously programmatic going on in the sports industry.

It's definitely, I recognize it probably about six or seven years ago when, you know, you will wake up in the morning and the media outlets, the regular ones such as ESPN and those, to me, I woke up every morning and they was pushing to me their narrative of what you wanted to hear. And I just thought that was so unfair. And as a sports guy, I was like, hey, I want to hear other things besides that. Other subject that they're pushing. And I wasn't pleased. So that was kind of the catalyst that brought me and my other co hosts together to make the sports chases. And, hey, we chase all the sports. So that's how we come with that.

But this is the brilliant positioning for a podcast. And that's why I think your show really works, is because you're looking at it from this perspective of what am I not getting over here from the general sports broadcasting that I can deliver, because it's what I'm passionate about, it's where I live, and it's what I'm all about.

And you do that brilliantly.

So I think this is an ideal reason to start a podcast.

It definitely was, and one of the origins of it. So one of my co workers. Excuse me, my co host, Dorian, his wife, one day said to us, we was on the phone, and she said, you guys argue so much about sports. You guys need to just start a show. And I was like, hey, Rhonda, that's a great idea. And that was around that time. So we started around five years ago, October 2018. And when she said that, something just rang out. And I was like, so I hear, you know, this podcasting thing, I says, hey, we can do it. We can try it. And five years later, 172 episodes later, 173. Excuse me, 174. Tomorrow night on Thursdays, we're here. We're doing this.

I think that's brilliant. But as you pointed out, having six co hosts is a challenge. But I also think it's a benefit. As I was thinking about it and listening to all of you, I. I love how you give all of them. And this is listeners out there. You want to listen all the way through one of the shows. Absolutely. You know, I'm always telling you that don't just listen and listen to the first five minutes. Listen all the way through. Because you got to give all these guys, they want their last word, and I love the way you get them, and you get them their last word, and sometimes you send them off because you're like, stop talking. You're gone. I got to go to the next one. But they have their viewpoint, and they also have their specialty, which I think is great. Like, you have some that are MBA specialists, NHL. It gives it so that you don't have to bear the burden of having.

To be an expert in all the sports.

One of the things that I did brainstorm about it when I started this, that I wanted to do was bring people on who had a specialty who loved a specific sport. And it just remind me of some of the legacy media companies like ESPN and Fox Sports that have contributors and those who are specific to their sport. So me and the guys, we came together, hey, you like NBA? Hey, Dan, he's our NHL guy, we call him the hockey dude. And Dan comes on, he does his thing with hockey. My brother Darrell D Dub, he's the one that does the boxing and M and A. And it just came together where the guys can just focus these bullseye on what they like as far as the sports world.

I love that I always talk about people's binge factor and I'm gonna say that you don't quite have what I would call a binge able show for someone going back and listening to all your EP because of the newsworthiness, but you have a forward facing binge factor and this is it. I know I might disagree with one of your six guys, but I'm gonna agree with one of them and I'm gonna be like, listen to him. And that is gonna make me wanna tune back in and tune back in and get his perspective. So it's really great. Because if I don't resonate with all, that's okay, right?

Absolutely. And I like the fact that we don't agree and sometimes we'll have meetings before the show and we'll have different viewpoints and we're like, all right, we'll hash it out on the show.

So the other thing that I really think is great is there's consistency. And now, of course, I've only listened to a handful of your 173 episodes, but the reality is that I'm hearing.

Some definite consistency between you and your hosts on your viewpoints.

And I think that sometimes when we listen to the newscasters and the broadcasters, they're going like, what's going to get tweeted tomorrow? And they just pick a contrary position to do it. And it's not in keeping with their viewpoint.

Tracy, that's one of the other factors that made me want to start this because I thought people sometimes, again with some of the media corporate wasn't really true to what they really were saying. They said one thing and believed another thing. And I don't want us to be that, hey, if this is what we truly, truly believe in, let's say it, let's believe it, let's stand on it. And that's just basically what we do. So that's where we're at with that.

I love it. Now you have a newsletter you have social pages, you got a website. You got all that, those functional things going on. Are people reaching out to you and, like, disagreeing with you and arguing with you guys? Are you feeling that?

Sometimes on YouTube Live, some folks will jump into the comments when we're on 7:30 on Thursdays, of course. And yes, they'll have their difference of opinion. And I just like the fact that we can go back and forth with those opinions because, you know, at the end of the day, you have your opinion, I might have mine. Who's to say we're right? Who's to say we can measure it? But the beautiful thing about sports is kind of like the barbershop effect of going in the banter. You know, who's better, MJ or LeBron? And to just bring people together. In my bio, I write, I said sports should be a thing that brings people together, win, lose, or draw.

That's so, so true.

I love how you're thinking that way. Well, let's talk about some things that are really working for your show that you obviously enjoy it.

Yes.

You wouldn't keep showing up five years later, week after week.

Yes. One of the things that I do enjoy, like I said, the consistency. And this might be for all the people that do psychology podcasts. I think it's therapy for me.

I hear that from other podcasters. You're not the first one.

I literally can't wait till Thursday. I'm excited. I'm going through all the week, and I'm just ready and raring. I'm talking to the guys, I'm texting the guys. All right, we're going to talk about this. We're going to do this on the rundown. And they're like, kev, slow down, slow down, slow down. I was like, hey, Thursday's here. And I'm always thinking and I'm always seeing how I can improve this show. I actually had a guy last week, motorsports. Like I said, it's sports changes for a reason. And we want to talk about all types of sports. So my brain is running a thousand miles an hour trying to see what other sports that we can bring on the show.

You know, I had to say that I was listening to one of the more recent episodes, and you were talking a little bit MBA things. And my daughter had just said to me is like, how come we don't see a lot of girls playing sports on tv? This is what she says to me. And I said, well, your dad watches a lot of mlp. So, like, I mean, there just really Isn't a lot of girls baseball right now. And so I say that. I said, but if you watch the NBA, there's the wnba. I love that you guys always give.

Shout outs to ladies.

You are always giving shout outs when it's due. And you're like, so and so is good, but she's better. You really are paying attention to all sides of the sport.

That was another thing Trace. So I might want to bring out. I always said it. I wish I had the budget of espn and absolutely, it would be awesome because I can get more information out. But the six of us, we come together, we do our homework, we do our research. We're very serious about it. I even heard you said one time, one of the shows that you should take this thing really, if you're podcasting, you should take this thing really seriously, even down to the mic block that we're going to get here real soon and just be professional and really, really hone your skill or whatever your subject matter is.

Yeah, I agree. And I think that's really what I see in your show or hear in your show. See, and here, because there's video too. But I see that model of you're taking that defenders of the fan seriously.

Which means even if you're not getting.

That feedback loop, you're hearing it in your head, you're hearing it in your consciousness. And I love that because that means that really you're putting out a great.

Show week after week after week.

Yeah. And that's the goal. Every week. I say to the guys, we have like a little production meeting on Wednesdays. And I'll be like, hey, let's make this the best show. Let's put our best foot forward and make sure we do what we're supposed to do on our end to make sure we give out fans everything that they need as far as information wise when it comes to the world of sports. We're checking for the hot stories, of course, and sometimes we also do the not so hot stories that people may not know the things that may be ambiguous to others. And so we try to seek out those shows.

You were talking about it like the Barbershop, and I thought that was really kind of an interesting visual of what.

Your show is like.

Is this idea that you guys know each other fairly well, you're ragging on each other a little bit, if I can use that term.

Right.

You guys do that. There's a rapport that's there that's just fantastic. But you don't let each other get away with Just touching on the surface of something because you want to make sure that they define it. They go deeper for the fans. An interesting thing is that maybe because you're not the NFL guy, right, you go, wait, wait, what were you talking about there? What does that mean? And that helps the fans, because some of us became fans and didn't play, so we don't have the deep knowledge underneath it.

And that's true what you said, Tracy, about that. I think people want more. It's the information, so people definitely want more. And I say to myself and to the guys, hey, we got to dig deeper. We got to make sure we cover everything when it comes to the story. Just not like you said, don't get it on the surface. Dig down, get the what, the why, the when, the how, and all that stuff. So kind of be like a detective.

That's good. I like that. This is what is frustrates me. And also just like the part I love the most about the podcast industry. I love podcasts like yours, Kevin, because.

You are providing this wonderfully rich bit.

Of information, a bright spot in somebody's week that getting them to argue with their phone, if they're listening that way, argue through the headphones, whatever it is, argue with their computer, they're getting something out of it that's really energizing and important to them. But I'm frustrated that you're hidden.

You should be getting so much more.

Credit for what you're building and what you've built already, and that frustrates me. And so my role and job in this industry is to try to make sure that you get more exposure. Right? And I'm trying all kinds of different ways, but I really feel that there's some publication somewhere, there are some news channel somewhere that should be picking up.

What you guys think and using it.

As a basis for something else.

And they should be paying you for.

That, by the way.

I think some of the media people, they have gotten away from this model, so to speak, of providing this information on this way. And getting back to following back to what you said about being hidden, I strongly believe Tom says this all the time. So I've been with you guys for about a year and a half now, and he says this all the time. When he says it on the other show about podcasting is not a sprint. It's a marathon. Especially if you're not famous or you don't have those. It's going to take a little bit time, and I acknowledge that. But on the other hand, like you said, we're hidden. I'm just waiting, like you said, for that opportunity for. To push through the crowd because the sports industry and the podcast, it's a lot.

There's a lot of noise there. That's right.

There's a lot of noise there. But I believe in being consistent. Again, what Tom has said to us earlier, he said to us, he said, hey, you gotta make sure you do this. Whatever you do, just make sure you're consistent with it. And that's so true. So that's why we make it a point every Thursday to be out there to whatever's going on, to make sure we give a good show or give a good 90 minutes and we bring it in those 90 minutes.

You do bring it. I love that. What's your biggest challenge, you think as you're moving forward?

My biggest challenge, I would say going back to that thing. We want to get more exposure. That's what we're looking for.

Getting some more publicity out there for the show is a big challenge for you.

I'm trying a little bit of not everything, but, you know, we got the YouTube channel going. Of course, you guys syndicate us on every major podcast platform, as I always say, on our social media. So I'm doing the social media. We get a lot of engagement on TikTok and YouTube shorts for whatever reason. Don't know. But we're trying. And I think too. And salute to you guys also. Yeah, we do hang out, right? Hanging out with Potter Ties, who helps podcasters go to the next level, is definitely a great thing. And I've seen so much growth with us since we've been with you guys the last year and a half.

I'm so honored that you say that. You know, this is the one thing.

I love, that you show up to.

Our coaching calls all the time where a lot of people don't. And then they wonder why their show isn't growing. Right. They aren't really making the effort, but you're definitely making the effort there. I think you're not alone in the challenge of growing a show because there are so many podcasters, but there are so many that don't stick it out like you have. You really put in the time. It's time for that to tip here. And we have to keep looking at what we can do to make that happen and making connections and figuring out ways for that to occur. And one of those ways is guests. And so you've taken a few guests in on your show, I think, and you've gone and guested on some other.

Shows, I believe, correct?

Yes.

How's that worked for you?

We did the thing with the Podmatch with Alex. I can't remember his last.

Alex Sanfilippo. Yep. And Podmatch.

Yes, we did that. I sometimes scour social media, such as TikTok and Instagram. There was a young lady that we got here a couple months ago right before the Super Bowl. Her name is Deb Wickes. I sent her a message and she's like, she would love to come on the podcast. And she's a woman in sports media. And she came on and she gave us about 20 minutes and it was awesome. I really had a good time. And so sometimes I task the guys also. I said, hey, let's find some person who will want to come on the show. And they don't necessarily have to be a big sports figure, so to speak. Somebody that's in sports. We had a young lady, she the social media, in charge of social media for minor league baseball team in Charlotte, North Carolina. She came on the show and she was just so lazy to come on and talk sports, talk baseball with us, you know. So she said it was her first time coming on a podcast and she was really excited about it. So I say to the guys, it doesn't necessarily have to be a big time sports figure. Cause theoretically we might not be there yet. We try, we reach out to the Pat McAfee's of the world and stuff like that, and they sent a generic letter saying, hey, no thank you at this time, that's fine, and I'm good with that. But, you know, our time will come. I strongly believe that if we keep pushing and keep on doing this thing and persevering.

Oh, I believe it too, Kevin. I really love what you've built here and I want all the best for it. So whatever I can do. I'm always thinking in the background and when something comes across my desk, I'm like, oh, sports chasers. Gotta refer them over, you know. So that's one of the other benefits to you, though, participating and being so active out there is that it might not be right at this moment, but someone's gonna go, oh, I remember there was some guys you wanted to guest on a podcast. Oh, oh, there were these guys who didn't stop sending us a letter every couple of months.

It's gonna happen.

Yes, I strongly believe that. I believe in the beauty of connecting with people, connecting one another. My brother reached out to you, I believe, and you gave us some. Chris Dinehart, who owns Dugout Mugs, cups. And that was a great interview we had with him. He hung out with us, man. We really had a good time hanging with us. So I believe in the power of connection and connecting with people. And when those things happen, you know, you don't know what can happen as far as connecting with the right people.

It all comes back to you, right?

Absolutely.

So keep defending the fans, Kevin. I love that. And flying in the face of what's going on in broadcast media because it's just not good out there. And podcasting is the antidote to that?

I absolutely think so. And I think it's challenging. Legacy media podcast is keeping people on their toes. And you see some of those, you can even see in the sports world all the Steven A's and Dan Levitar's, they got what, their own podcast now?

That's right. Because they find it a little freeing.

Yes, absolutely.

That's so, so true. Well, I can't wait to hear about where you are in another year. So you'll have to touch base with us and let us know where you're going. But do you have any words of wisdom you'd love to leave some aspiring podcasters with?

I would just say to aspiring podcasters, just stick with it. Don't listen to all the noise. Keep yourself focused and just educate yourself too. Don't. Just don't go out there blindly. For the first couple of years, we were just out wandering around and lo and behold, I was scrolling through social media and I found this company called Potatoes. And here I am another year and a half later, our numbers going up and getting better and better every day. That's my wisdom for that. Just be consistent and just keep pushing. That would be my words of wisdom to podcasters.

Thank you so much, Kevin. So glad to have you on the show and so glad the Sports Chasers podcast is still going strong. Thursdays, 7:30pm Eastern Time. Let's make that clear here because my listeners might think it's Pacific time. So Eastern Time, 7:30pm and you can check it out live on YouTube. So we'll have the links for that in the blog post for this episode as well.

Yes, this has been really awesome. So check out the Sports Chasers podcast. I am Kevin L. Warren, your host and moderator. You got Daryl D. Dub Warren, you got James the Angry one. You got Dan the hockey dude. You got Mike Mills, and you got Dorian the Da. The six of us, we're here and we're not going nowhere. So check us out.

I told you that was going to.

Be really insightful and a lot of.

Fun to hear from Kevin about all the different things that he's doing and how he's working.

I so appreciate his shout out at.

The end there saying that you need.

To get an expert in it, but.

I think this is something that is really worth reiterating.

And he said something to me after that I thought was really valuable.

When you are an up and coming podcaster, you need to have some kind of mentorship, and it doesn't matter if it's me. That's not important.

It could be someone like Kevin.

It could be someone who you look up to. But you need to get some advice. It's critical that you align yourself with individuals who are growing within the industry. It's not just get a course, get a program, get someone to mentor you in this process so that you can do what you want to do with it. And that's what Kevin has done. He'll show up on our coaching calls and will ask us questions. He's like, what do you think of me trying this? Do you think this will work for me? And because we've gotten to know him, because he's participated and is so active in it, as we understand his show and every time we give him advice or he asks a question, we can personalize it. We understand what his goals are, where he's going, and that, I think, is the critical factor. So often we just type questions into Google and expect an answer. That's not what Kevin is looking for. And that's not what sports is all about either. Right. The more you grow in sports, right. You get yourself a good coach when you're starting out so you don't get.

Injured, you know what you're going to do. You maybe get up and you start to get in baseball.

You might get a batting coach, a pitching coach.

Like you get different types as you're.

Going along the way. That's exactly what we want to have.

Happen for you here.

And it's really what Kevin's built is he got started, he started a play, he started to play with podcasting, loved it, then wanted to take it to the next level and the next level and the next level. And he's growing because of that. That's what's so brilliant about his show. But he's also got a big challenge. And I'm not going to kid you.

A sports show, a show that is.

Set in time, where you're going to.

Talk about a subject that might be.

Out of date next week, is more work. It's harder for you to do that because you have to work at marketing it in the moment. So you get people to show up right now and listen because they won't come back and listen to past episodes. They might listen here and there to.

Something that caught their eye or something.

They missed a couple of weeks ago.

But they're not gonna go all the.

Way back to two years ago and start binge listening on the show. It's just not gonna work like that. But you will get them to subscribe and move forward with you and not want to miss an episode. So you have that fear of missing out. That's something a little different that the rest of us podcasters don't get to tap into. You just have to really make sure that your strategy is tapping into that and thinking of that. And Kevin's really worked that out by having that dynamic group of all his.

Co hosts, those five New York natives just working together. You just gotta love that. It's just really challenging the way that.

He'S got everything going on and all.

The different personalities, but he's making it.

Work by really putting effort into the pre production of it, what he's thinking.

About, what they're going to talk about.

And the planning of it and then also in the execution of it. And he's always upping his game as he goes along.

I hope you really enjoyed getting to meet Kevin L. Warren speaking Sports Chasers Podcast.

And you're going to want to go check it out. Make sure you listen in see this.

Style of podcasting and if you are.

A sports fan, this is probably the show for you.

Defenders of the fans, love that. I'll be back next week and I'm going to have another sports topic next week because I've got Danny's Dugouts coming up. So I've got kind of the polar opposite. I've got a female New York Yankee fan who's got a fan podcast that is off the charts.

So we're going to look at the.

Two sides of this and I'll have.

A different recap on Tani's show. So make sure you tune in to.

That end where you hear the comparisons.

And the differences between these two distinctive episodes.

So stay tuned to the Binge Factor.

I'll be back next week.

You've been listening to the Binge Factor podcast. For more information on podcasting and videocasting success tips and tactics, please go to thebingefactor.com and be sure to listen to our other show for podcasters called Feed you'd brand if you'd like to be interviewed on this show as well as featured in Tracy's column, please go to thebingefactor.com guest and apply.