A True Visionary

As someone who covers the world of entertainment, writing celebrity obituaries is often one of the down sides of my career. I have loved music for so long that these public figures are often a part of my childhood and upbringing – in one form or the other.

Today, I am reflecting on someone who has touched my life in a less obvious, more subtle way. Steve Sabol, longtime head of NFL Films, died yesterday at the age of 69 due to brain cancer. His father, Ed, was a pioneer in filming the league, and how the sport was presented, and to say that Ed followed in his footsteps is putting it rather lightly.

He went to work for the league in the early 1960s, and it was his unique artistic touch that shaped the way we would look at game highlights from the NFL. Hank Stram’s “65 Toss Power Trap” in Super Bowl IV. The Immaculate Reception. Montana to Clark. Barry Sanders’ twists and turns while making the run look like an art himself. Sabol and his staff changed the way we watch sports. In a sense, (and for sports fans, I don’t think this is an exaggeration) he and his father were the Walt Disney of his genre. To think of a generation of NFL highlight films without that voice, while something that is inevitable, is something that makes me (and all sports fans) a little somber today.

I want to close out this entry with something that Sabol wrote years ago. It was in tribute to the Oakland Raiders, but I dare say all football fans can identify. I wish I had half the imagination to write something as moving. It’s called “The Autumn Wind Is A Pirate.”

The Autumn wind is a pirate
Blustering in from the sea
With a rollicking song he sweeps along
Swaggering boisterously
His face is weatherbeaten
He wears a hooded sash
With a silver hat about his head
And a bristling black mustache
He growls as he storms the country
A villain big and bold
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake
As he robs them of their gold
The Autumn wind is a Raider
Pillaging just for fun
He’ll knock you ‘round and upside down
And laugh when he’s conquered and won.



Brilliance, pure and simple. RIP, Steve Sabol, and thanks for the memories.

The Off Switch

It has been a few weeks since I last blogged. The past two weeks have been a blur - which is a very good thing. The more that I work, the less time I have to think, which keeps me a little more sane. I said in my last blog that I wanted your insight on something I have been thinking about a lot lately.

First of all, I have to set this blog up a bit. I have never considered myself to be that driven. Many of my inner circle used to wonder if I had any ambition at all. I have a lot to do with that perception. At times, I can seem like a low-key person who seems to let the chips fall. Sometimes, that's true. But, since I was 13 or 14, career-wise, it was a different case. I tried to learn everything I could about the business I wanted to be in so badly. I was blessed to be able to start my career when I was sixteen years old.

I worked as hard as I could from that time on, trying to establish myself with as many people as I could. Whether it be music, sports, programming, or anything else I could do, I tried to be as good as I could be. And, I have been blessed to be able to continue my career some twenty-two years later, and the past year has seen some of the highest highs I have ever experienced from a career level. I don't consider myself the best writer, the best radio person, etc, that does what I do, but as far as having passion for it, nobody has any more. I can assure you of that.

But, there is a flip side. I was having a conversation with a close friend of mine the other day. I was saying I wish I had a couple of days where I could "do nothing." (Just a few days off - if any of my bosses are reading this!) But, my problem is I would always find something to do. And, don't get me wrong - I love it. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I am blessed beyond words to do what I do for a living. I don't take it for granted, and I know where it comes from. But, is it healthy to spend all of your time on a computer? Where is the off switch? I don't have an answer. I know several people who are successful in all phases of life. My question to you is how do you find the "off switch," or do you?

I want to stress once again that I have no problem with my schedule right now. I love interviewing, broadcasting, and writing. There is nothing else that I would want to do any more, and truth be told...probably nothing else I could do. Is it bad to be a workaholic? That is the question. It seems to work for a lot of people I know in the business, but I don't know. I know that I want to succeed, but also if I get a second chance at happiness in a relationship, I want to be able to make it last. What do you think? 

Now, back to writing. After all, it's what I do. And, I do love doing it!