Human Victory Cigar

Matt Dery is the Sports Director at WDFN 1130 AM, the Detroit Pistons’ flagship radio station. The 33 year old Pepper Pike Ohio native and Syracuse University graduate has been with WDFN for 10 years after working for WHK Radio in Cleveland.

Matt has been the radio voice of the University of Detroit Mercy Titans for the past 9 years and is a die-hard Cleveland Indians fan.

The first time I emailed Matt was during the opening round of the 2006 Playoffs. The Pistons were playing the Milwaukee Bucks and had just lost Game 3 on the road prompting me to fire off a frustrated email to what sounded like a sympathetic voice on my portable radio. Since that time, we’ve traded post game correspondence which lead to my request for an interview.

“The Diesel” accepted, answering questions about himself, his career and the Pistons. (Continued)

As I watch the my20 Detroit broadcasts, it is obvious that the Pistons are back to ticket sales circa 2000/2001. Struggling to sell themselves in a market saturated with sports success. This in itself is not very surprising. For the last 4 years Ben Wallace has been the image of the Detroit Pistons. Undrafted, hard working, all heart. And now that he is gone, forecasts must be adjusted and marketing strategies revised.

Of course, nothing stokes the passions of a Detroit basketball fan like a monstrous block and those passions manifest themselves in fan noise, clicks of the turnstile, hotdog and beer purchases. If you thought Ben walked for $12 million more than the Pistons were willing to pay, consider that the Pistons thought that losing Ben was going to cost them less than $12 million dollars over 4 years in tickets, merchandise and sponsorship revenue. (Continued)