This past Friday night, on January 27th, I was back down at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly, but unlike when I am normally down there for my 76ers public address announcer job, this night was a little different.
I was in attendance as the Philadelphia Wings were set to take the Buffalo Bandits in what would ultimately be a 13-9 loss.
Although the Wings did not come through with a win, I think every Wings fan left that night as if they did win, and that is because one legendary Wings player had his jersey number retired that night.
That player was a great friend of mine, Kevin Finneran!
The number 11 will now fly high above all at the Wells Fargo Center at every Wings, Sixers, and Flyers game forever, and all the concerts and circuses in between as well!
I am so happy for Kevin, and I was honored to host the ceremony!
It was great to be back on the microphone during a Wings game, and it felt just like old times!
If you didn’t know, I got my start as a public address announcer with the Wings back in 1993 and I was with the team until 1998!
I was fortunate enough to be a part of the organization for three different championships!
Kevin actually started playing for the Wings the exact year I was brought on, but his career with the team lasted until 2002!
He finished his Philadelphia career with 192 goals and 283 assists, which was good for the third most points in team history!
Most importantly, he helped the Wings to four championship titles!
That’s even more championships than I saw during my tenure with the team!
This is not Kevin’s first ceremony after his lacrosse playing career, he was also inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2021.
Overall, Kevin is a legend on the field and even more so off the field.
I was so stoked to be able to be the one to host his celebration!
It was great to catch up with a ton of former Wings players like Jake Bergey, Scott Gabrielsen, Chris Flynn, G.T. Corrigan, Tony Resch, Michael Buzza, and Paul Deniken who were all in the building to honor Kevin.
Congratulations K-Finn!
You definitely deserve to have your name flying in the rafters among Philadelphia sports legends such as Dr. J, Allen Iverson, Bobby Clark, and, now, Kevin Finneran!
MATT CORD
Join me weekdays 9am to 2pm right after The John DeBella Show and before André Gardner from 2pm-7pm. CONNECT 3 at 10am for FABULOUS prizes, Noontime Nuggets at 12noon, and you can win concert tickets throughout the show for many of the upcoming MGK Concerts. Text in your requests at MGKMGK or call 215-263-WMGK. I end every show with a voicemail from my late father Jack Cord because he always left the coolest voicemails on my machine and phone.
Also the PA Voice for the Philadelphia 76ers for the past 26 years, and the Voice of NBA2K22 and NBA2K23.
