Official... raise your post count thread!!

[Bobcat]

BAMM!!!

Mornin!

From South Carolina......9 Hours to go...

[fund razor]

"Hello Friends."

I spent an evening with Jim Nantz last night. Interesting guy. Great storyteller. At age 11, he wrote a letter to Jim McKay from Wide World of Sports and said he wanted to be a sports announcer. He got occasional letters from McKay, who then invited Nantz to come to New York and play golf with him when he graduated. They became friends. He gave the eulogy at Jim's funeral.
He gave the eulogy at Arnold Palmer's funeral too.

In college, around 1980, Nantz had a roomie. The roomie was named Fred Couples. Once in a while, they would pretend. They rehearsed a day when Couples would win the Masters, and Nantz would call it. It happened for real in 1992.

Nantz golfed with four presidents. Had dinner with Queen Elizabeth. (George Bush invited him to keep the conversation going.)
In 2019, he was calling Tiger's comeback at The Masters and had already decided what he would say: Nothing. He and Nick Faldo let 2:38 go by without saying a word after Nantz said "A return to glory."

Nantz used the proceeds from his bestselling book about his father to found a center to find a cure for Alzheimers in Houston. They are making breakthroughs. He said when he dies he wants to know they beat the opponent who beat his dad.
Nantz wrote a check for $25,000 for a local charity. He also donated the CBS jacket he was wearing when he called the 2024 Super Bowl for auction. He said it was the most watched telecast in history.

He will be calling the Memorial this weekend in Columbus.

[fund razor]

Jim Nantz told his father that he couldn't start every broadcast with "Hello Dad."

But he could start with "Hello Friends." He was saying hi to his dad. That's all it ever was. It was never a gimmick.
Just his way of staying connected with his father. But it stuck.

Jim Nantz is 65. He has an 8 year old son. He said in 2036, his now 8-year-old son could play in the Masters.
If he does, he will retire and say "Hello Son. Goodbye Friends."

Ok, one more: The spot where Tiger hugged his kids in 2019 at the Masters is the same spot where he hugged his father in 1997. CBS was told the kids weren't coming to the final round. But the guys in the booth looked up at a shot of the kids and Tiger's mom standing there. Jim Nantz knew the kids had never seen Tiger in that light. He also knew Tiger is kind of a good father, at the end of the day. It's one of the reasons he said "Return to glory." He knew the kids would watch that clip one day.
After it was all over, and everyone left, CBS played a delayed tape of the round and Tiger sat in Butler Cabin and watched his round.
He was utterly exhausted.

[Ratickle]

Morning from Crystal Spring Maryland.

4 hours to go.....

[fund razor]

Never been there. Sounds pretty from the name.

[rschap1]

Happy Friday
Enjoy the rest of the trip
and the races

[Blue Oval]

Are you there yet? Interesting schedule for Friday.