A Nod of Respect

Every successful endeavor is, at least in part, a success because of people or things that don’t always command the spotlight. Such is the case with our radio broadcasts; if they can be considered successful after nearly a quarter of a century, a significant share of the credit goes to Kevin Lee and Scott Fenstermaker.

Kevin has been with us since the 1990’s and is an invaluable asset. He handles the half-hour pre-game show, takes over at halftime so I can enjoy a cigar (not really, but he does give me a chance to stretch my legs and get in a game or two of Words With Friends), and provides us with an array of information that livens up the broadcast. He’s either extremely versatile (his perspective) or extremely persuasive (mine) and has convinced (his perspective) or coerced (me again) the Indianapolis Colts, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and NBC Sports to provide him with paychecks. This limits his availability to the point where he doesn’t join us for every broadcast, but I’ll take some of Kevin over all of most anyone else every time.

Mr. Fenstermaker is our broadcast engineer for home games and has been with us even longer than Kevin has. I use the more formal “Mister” here, in large part because our engineer is a legitimate gun-toting, supplies in the basement in anticipation of the pending Armageddon, to the far right of Glenn Beck ultra-conservative and I’m deathly afraid of him. Still, I’m more than willing to overlook these minor personality quirks because the man is a master at his craft. He mixes everything—crowd noise, broadcaster’s microphones, basket mics, and more—perfectly. In addition, he’s posted up next to me for several hundred, maybe even a thousand, broadcasts and hasn’t so much as fired either a single punch or a round from a .45 at me, which, believe it or not, takes considerable restraint.

So if the next time you tune into a broadcast and find it pleasing to the ear, please offer a nod of respect to Kevin and Scott. They’re contributions are immeasurable and appreciated. If, on the other hand, you tune in and find yourself less than impressed?

Well, that’s all on those two.