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Democracy is a Great Thing
As the “voice” of the Missouri Mavericks and William Chrisman Bears I am reluctant to express my political feelings in public forums. These titles have given me the opportunity to meet wonderful friends on both sides of the aisle.
Being a play-by-play announcer has led to meetings with elected officials. While broadcasting a high School football game in 2000 a representative of John Ashcroft entered the booth asking if I would like to interview the candidate for senate. This occurred a few weeks before his opponent, Mel Carnahan, died in a plane crash. During the interview I avoided promoting the bids of Mr. Ashcroft or Mr. Carnahan. Listeners learned of Ashcroft’s opinions on football.
A few months later Mel Carnahan’s widow Jean was a U.S. senator and John Ashcroft was U.S. Attorney General.
Broadcasting Mavericks hockey has given me two opportunities to have conversations with Missouri governor Jay Nixon. During the first season Mr. Nixon and several of his staff members joined me in the gondola for a live interview in which I learned that he, along with 5,800 other people, were having a great time that evening.
During the 2010-2011 season the governor of the Show Me State arrived minutes before the pre game show. Following our recorded interview I set a CHL announcer record in my sprint to the gondola to ensure the pre game began on time.
When discussions were being held by the Independence City Council in relation to the possibility of an events center I discovered how fortunate local citizens are to have leaders who are willing to put differences aside and stick their necks out to create something that would benefit many people. Mayor Don Reimal and council members Jim Schultz, Jason White, Marcie Gragg, Lucy Young, Jim Page, Myron Paris and the late Will Swoffer proved great things can happen when we work together.
If you read this before 7:00 PM, Tuesday, November 6 please do your civic duty and vote. No matter the outcome let’s all support one another.
Bob Rennison does live game coverage of the Missouri Mavericks and the William Chrisman Bears in Independence, MO.
