Greg Wolf Raises His Voice While Entertaining Tampa Bay Lightning, USF Fans

Greg Wolf wanted to voice his opinion. As he was accompanying his brother, a restaurant employee, on a delivery to a radio station in St. Petersburg one morning in 1996, he was listening to the female co-hosts discuss how men generally do not like to shop.

Wolf, whose mother worked in the fashion industry, disagreed with the viewpoint being expressed. Soon after he and his brother arrived at the station, Wolf got into a friendly debate with the ladies. The next thing he knew, he was engaged in an on-air discussion.

Forget that co-hosts Lynne Austin and Brenda Lee were Hooters gals and former Playboy models. Wolf had a point to make and, suddenly, an audience with which to make it.

“When we got into the studio, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut,” recalled Wolf. “There was this natural banter between me and the ladies, and I loved it. It was a great back-and-forth.”

A quarter of a century later, Wolf has yet to hush up. The 46-year-old is heard loud and clear as the in-game host at Tampa Bay Lightning and University of South Florida football and men’s and women’s basketball games.

“Who could have known?” he said. “I joined my brother on a delivery and one thing led to another.”

That is pretty much how Wolf’s career progressed. It began with an internship at WBDN-AM after asking Austin and Lee if such an opportunity existed at the station.

“That was my foot in the door in radio,” said Wolf, at the time a 20-year-old USF student.

The station was sold not long thereafter, but not before Wolf acquired valuable experience in just about everything having to do with the operation. That experience, and the contacts he made, were key in opening doors for career opportunities.

One such opportunity was with the Lightning in 2006. Mark Gullett, who headed up the marketing division at WiLD-FM, which Wolf joined after WBDN was sold, was the NHL club’s marketing director. He ultimately brought Wolf on board as the team’s marketing coordinator responsible for everything from handling sponsorships to hosting pregame entertainment outside the arena.

One night during the 2006-07 season when neither of the team’s in-game hosts were available, Wolf volunteered to fill in.

“I loved every minute of it,” said the Maryland native. “I am like, ‘I can’t believe I am actually doing this.’ I had a blast.”

The next season, 2007-08, with both in-game hosts having moved on, Gullett turned to Wolf to handle the duties for the Lightning and the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.

“I kind of fell into the role,” he said.

It did not last long, though. In June 2008, film and television producer, Oren Koules, and former NHLer Len Barrie, bought the team. They made several changes, including the in-game presentation.

Wolf was out, which led him back to the airwaves. In 2009, he started as promotions director for sports radio WDAE-AM and sister station WFLA-AM news radio, the Lightning’s flagship.

“Coming from radio, many people were familiar with me,” he said. “It was a great transition.”

It turned out to be a great thing for Wolf and others when Jeff Vinik purchased the Lightning in February 2010.

Today, attending a Lightning game is a top-shelf entertainment experience from the time the team takes the ice to the final buzzer. That was not necessarily the case when Vinik took over. The new owner, though, had his management team poll fans on several areas, including the in-game experience. That ultimately led to Wolf returning as host effective the lockout shortened 2012-13 season.

“I was asked to come back,” said Wolf, who has hosted several community-related events throughout the bay area and has filled in at Tampa Bay Rays games. “I never wanted to leave in the first place. To be able to return, that does not happen much in sports.”

Wolf has been at it ever since and has collected a couple of Stanley Cup rings, which he is not bashful about showing off during his pregame routine.

“I love everything that I do on a game night, but what I enjoy most is walking around and interacting with the fans,” said Wolf, who has been working USF football and basketball games since 2014. “Every team says they have the best fans, but our fans are different. I really enjoy the family environment in this community, but also in this building. Walking around Amalie Arena feels like home.”

John Franzone, the Lightning’s vice president of game presentation, noted Wolf is a key member of the “game-night family.” It is cast that includes anthem singer Sonya Bryson-Kirksey, public address announcer Paul Porter, organist Krystof Srebrakowski, pregame and intermission host JP Peterson and reporter Gabby Shirley, who joined the crew this season.

“Greg is a consummate pro,” said Franzone, who is in his 14^th season with the team. “He is able to elevate a moment in his unique way. He puts guests and contestants at ease, and I think that is part of his strongest suit. He connects with people in the last row. He is a guy that is talking to you, and not just somebody delivering copy.”

Wolf traveled with the team to Sweden in November 2019 to serve as in-game host at Ericsson Globe, where the Lightning and Sabres played a pair of game as part of the NHL’s Global Series. He also served as a host at various all-star game events in Las Vegas this year.

“To be on the league’s call list, so to speak, for such events is humbling,” he said.

Wolf continued in his roles with WDAE and WFLA until 2016 when he began investing more time in Street Laced Marketing and Promotions, a company he co-founded in 2006 with business partner Blaise Potts.

The company’s operations include deejay booking, social media campaigns and event hosting. Need a bounce house for a backyard party, or vendors for a church carnival? Street Laced, which handles the entertainment at Bucs Beach outside Raymond James Stadium on game days, can serve those needs as well.

“We have built ourselves as a one-stop shop,” said Wolf, noting the company has 42 deejays within its network. “There is no need to call several different people. We can get sound, staging, lightning, deejays and entertainers. We can do it all.”

Starting with that morning on the radio with Austin and Lee, it seems like Wolf has done it all. It is a career experience he shares with mass communication students at his alma mater.

“I was once one of them, sitting in that classroom,” he said. “I like to tell them about my career path. The message I have for them is that if an opportunity presents itself, whether you feel at that moment it will benefit you or not, take it because you never know what it might lead to in the future. If I had never gone to the radio station with my brother and never spoke up, would that have led to any of this?”