I am a huge fan of pop-culture. Just as much as I love sports, I am all about Harry Styles, the Jonas Brothers, the Bachelor, you name it. I am the ultimate fangirl. I have been a fan of Barstool Sports for a couple of years now. My absolute favorite podcast there is Chicks in the Office, a podcast hosted by Maria Ciuffo and Francesca Mariano, also known as Ria and Fran. Their podcast is described as “just two chicks keeping you informed and up to date on the hard-hitting pop culture news you didn’t know you needed.” They discuss the latest news in pop-culture, the new celebrity relationships, review television shows, and provide their takes and opinions. Needless to say, their podcast is right up my alley. Of course, if you are into pop-culture, the podcast alone is intriguing, but it is Ria and Fran’s friendship and chemistry that makes it by far my favorite. After listening to just a couple of episodes you will find yourself wanting to be best friends with the two of them. They are super funny, witty, and are incredibly relatable.
I grew to learn that Fran is a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan and loves the game of football. It was essentially her connection and love for the Eagles and the game that got her the job at Barstool Sports. Hearing her talk about the Eagles and football, I related so much personally to my passion for the Boston Red Sox and baseball. I was lucky enough to talk to Fran about what sports has meant to her, hear some of her current NFL thoughts, and about her new football podcast called the Dime Package. It was evident while listening to her talk about football and her career how passionate she is about what she does.
Fran was born and raised as an Eagles fan despite growing up in North Jersey which is mostly New York Giants territory.
“My dad comes from a family of massive Philly sports fans. There was no way around it.”
Because they lived in Giants territory her family had the NFL Sunday Ticket, so they could watch the Eagles games each week together. Growing up and doing this with her family is what really made her first fall in love with the game.
“I grew up just absolutely crazy about it. I fell in love with the game. I loved watching the games. It just became such a great bonding time with my siblings and my dad.”
Like every passionate sports family, Fran and her family were superstitious and was always worried about possibly “jinxing” the team.
“It was always about the juju, like okay that friend came over last weekend to watch the game, well he is not allowed to come watch the games anymore because they lost. Or I wore this jersey for this game, and they lost, then I can’t wear this jersey for the rest of the season.”
Whether it is screaming at the refs through the TV, or participating in pre-game rituals, every sports family can relate to some crazy, fun, and passionate in-game reactions.
“We knew to just not even invite friends over for the game because people would be like ‘is your family ok’?… Ria watched a game with us in New York this season and it was just me and my siblings. And she was just like “wow, so this is what you guys do huh?”
Fran’s favorite sport moment that she got to experience with her family was the Miracle at the Meadowlands, Part 2 where the Eagles had an unforgettable come from behind win against their rivals, the New York Giants.
“I went with my whole family. It was the first year that the new MetLife stadium opened. My dad took my grandpa, and they had some great seats. My mom, myself, my brother, and one of my brother’s friends were in the 4th to last row. And we kept saying how it was a disaster, how cold it was and how they were losing. We started to leave and came down the escalators but then Brent Celek scored his touchdown. And at that point we were like, ‘okay we will stick around we will see what happens.’ We actually ended up watching the whole rest of the game on the concourse. We met my dad and grandpa at the end of the game and my dad was like ‘We got to get out of here. Quick.’ We had all our Eagles gear on and we started cheering for like five minutes and then we were like ‘Okay we got to go get in the car fast and get the heck out of here.’”
Half of the beauty in sports is how it brings people together. Endless memories can be made. It creates a unique and special bond with individuals and families that can be passed down from generation to generation.
“People are always like ‘who cares, it’s just a game’ and yes, of course it is just a game, but it just unites so many people.”
Fran and her family are a perfect example of how the love of the game creates an inseparable bond with families and creates memories that will last a lifetime. It for sure is more than just a game.
Growing up with this love for sports, Fran was fairly sure she wanted to have a career in the industry and her friends knew it too.
“One of my 8th grade superlatives was ‘Most Likely to Work in Sports’ it was just one of those things all my friends knew.”
She knew she wanted to do something on camera as well.
“I would always watch the games and watch Erin Andrews and say to my family like I want to be Erin Andrews. I always thought I wanted to be a sideline reporter.” However, she also loved pop-culture growing up just as much as she loved sports. “I thought maybe I could do entertainment on camera because I would also see Guiliana Rancic and I would want to be her.”
Though from how her career went, she definitely got the best of both worlds.
“Obviously things change, and I am so happy now to be doing what I am doing… now I get to do both which is awesome.”
Again, it was that love for the game and that “Philly connection” that helped Fran get her position at Barstool Sports. She followed Smitty, who is the head Philadelphia sports personality at Barstool. He was putting out tweets in early 2017 looking for interns.
“I thought this would be great, I was in school in New York City at the time, so I applied.”
Fran went in for her interview and was able to help out on a morning show called the Drive Time. She clearly demonstrated some dedication and enthusiasm in what she was doing because she was hired right on the spot.
“I just always am forever grateful to Smitty for bringing me in and giving me that opportunity because I have definitely tried to make the most of it… The timing was perfect of when they just got to New York and they were really looking to hire interns. It was a lot of the stars aligning and things working out and that’s kind of how I got my foot in the door.”
After being an intern at Barstool for about a year, Fran and Ria launched their show Chicks in the Office in 2018. After having the podcast for just a few months, they were nominated for a People’s Choice Award. I think that goes to show how entertaining their podcast truly is. With Chicks in the Office still going strong and despite it remaining her top priority, this past fall she got the opportunity to launch her own football podcast, The Dime Package. Fran started this podcast with Barstool personality, Kayce Smith. The podcast can be described as “forgetting the X’s and O’s” of the game and is meant to “break down the NFL headlines on the field and spill the tea off the field.” It is a unique combination between breaking down the games with a twist of pop-culture.
“Getting to build this second show was so great. Kayce and I established a relationship and we both realized that there was so much that we can do… This was a way for the two of us to kind of establish our own voices on our own and have it be two girls talking about football. We sat down for a drink towards the end of summer and said ‘We should really do this. Let’s try it and see what happens.”
I would highly recommend this podcast for any football fan or anyone trying to get into the game of football and learn more about it.
Being an Eagles die-hard, I wanted to get her thoughts on the current Eagles situation.
In the last week of the season, the NFC East Champion came down to the Sunday Night Football game between the Washington Football Team and the Philadelphia Eagles. If the Eagles won, they would solidify the 6th pick in the upcoming draft, instead of receiving the 9th pick with a loss. If Washington won, they would clinch the NFC East. The Eagles went on to lose 20-14 and were criticized for “tanking” the game.
“The tank situation I think was blown out of proportion because of Sunday Night Football, being the last game, and from just how obvious it was. You thought Washington was going to play better, you didn’t think it was going to be that close.”
On Monday, January 11, the Eagles fired their head coach, Doug Pederson.
“Obviously all the headlines say he was fired but it almost seems like it was just a mutual end. It almost seems like from some of his recommendations of coaching changes and things like that, that he wanted to be out of there… I think Doug deserved another year. He won a Super Bowl three years ago. It just goes to show that I think they just lost any connection there. I think the players were really upset with how the end of the season went… If the rumors with Doug losing the locker room are true than maybe Doug has got to go.”
It is quite apparent how sports has made an impact on Fran in all aspects of her life. It has created memories for her with her family and has provided her with her dream career. This truly was all because of the love of the game and she followed this passion. It has inspired me to keep doing what I love and I hope it encourages others to do the same. To wrap up, I asked Fran how sports has made an impact on her life. Her answer could not have more honest, genuine, and perfect.
“It has become such an engrained part of my personality that I would have become such a different person without it. It defines a lot of how I present myself and how I talk with people. It has given me so much confidence in such a great way of loving something so much that you feel confident talking about it with anyone. I am having a great time doing that. It has been a gift… Thankfully, it has become such a huge part of my life. It has given me the career that I always wanted. It has become everything.”
Follow Fran on Instagram @francescamariano and Twitter @BarstoolFran
Follow Chicks in the Office and the Dime Package @chicksintheoffice and @thedimepackage and subscribe to them on Apple Podcast/Spotify
