BleedGopher
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A fantastic profile, per Dana:
We’ve all seen and heard his antics — the made-up vocabulary that is now part of the college basketball lexicon, the crowd-surfing and picture-posing. But Dickie V is not some alter ego of Dick Vitale. It’s who the ESPN analyst is: a good-hearted, boisterous and oversized personality who gives as much joy as he gets.
With his soundtrack to men’s college basketball sidelined this year by the combination of cancer treatment and vocal cord surgery, we decided to crowdsource for some of the best Vitale stories from the famous folks who know him well and the not-so-famous who experienced a chance encounter.
We like to consider it our virtual get well soon — and thank you — card to the irrepressible and irreplaceable Vitale.
His newly minted Notre Dame diploma in hand, Ryan O’Leary began to feel the pressure of putting that degree to work. It was mid-summer 1996, and O’Leary wanted to get into sports journalism, a difficult field to crack.
This was back when colleges printed student directories, complete with every co-ed’s hometown mailing address and phone number. It was also when people still had landlines. O’Leary worked part-time in the sports information department as an undergrad and knew that Vitale’s daughter, Sherri, played on the tennis team, so on a whim, he paged through the V section of the directory. “There was his home number,’’ O’Leary says. “Why not?” He took a deep breath and dialed the digits, and the “hello” on the other end came from the unmistakable voice of Vitale.
Swallowing his surprise, O’Leary explained his plight. Did Vitale have any suggestions? “I thought he’d just wish me luck or whatever,’’ O’Leary says. Instead, Vitale told him he knew a guy at College Sports Magazine and that he’d reach out to him on O’Leary’s behalf. Again, O’Leary wasn’t expecting much. “A week later, I’m driving down from Massachusetts to New Jersey to interview with this guy,’’ he says. “He had set the whole thing up.’’ He didn’t get the job — “I was woefully unqualified,’’ he says with a laugh. “But the fact that he even did all of that? To use his clout for some stranger, I couldn’t believe it. It always stuck with me.’’
O’Leary eventually got into the business. He’s now sports editor at the Daily Journal in Franklin, Ind. Recently, a high school student reached out to him, seeking advice. “I’ve taken him under my wing a bit, and try to help out any way I can,’’ O’Leary says. “Pay it forward, you know?”
Go Dick Vitale!!
We’ve all seen and heard his antics — the made-up vocabulary that is now part of the college basketball lexicon, the crowd-surfing and picture-posing. But Dickie V is not some alter ego of Dick Vitale. It’s who the ESPN analyst is: a good-hearted, boisterous and oversized personality who gives as much joy as he gets.
With his soundtrack to men’s college basketball sidelined this year by the combination of cancer treatment and vocal cord surgery, we decided to crowdsource for some of the best Vitale stories from the famous folks who know him well and the not-so-famous who experienced a chance encounter.
We like to consider it our virtual get well soon — and thank you — card to the irrepressible and irreplaceable Vitale.
His newly minted Notre Dame diploma in hand, Ryan O’Leary began to feel the pressure of putting that degree to work. It was mid-summer 1996, and O’Leary wanted to get into sports journalism, a difficult field to crack.
This was back when colleges printed student directories, complete with every co-ed’s hometown mailing address and phone number. It was also when people still had landlines. O’Leary worked part-time in the sports information department as an undergrad and knew that Vitale’s daughter, Sherri, played on the tennis team, so on a whim, he paged through the V section of the directory. “There was his home number,’’ O’Leary says. “Why not?” He took a deep breath and dialed the digits, and the “hello” on the other end came from the unmistakable voice of Vitale.
Swallowing his surprise, O’Leary explained his plight. Did Vitale have any suggestions? “I thought he’d just wish me luck or whatever,’’ O’Leary says. Instead, Vitale told him he knew a guy at College Sports Magazine and that he’d reach out to him on O’Leary’s behalf. Again, O’Leary wasn’t expecting much. “A week later, I’m driving down from Massachusetts to New Jersey to interview with this guy,’’ he says. “He had set the whole thing up.’’ He didn’t get the job — “I was woefully unqualified,’’ he says with a laugh. “But the fact that he even did all of that? To use his clout for some stranger, I couldn’t believe it. It always stuck with me.’’
O’Leary eventually got into the business. He’s now sports editor at the Daily Journal in Franklin, Ind. Recently, a high school student reached out to him, seeking advice. “I’ve taken him under my wing a bit, and try to help out any way I can,’’ O’Leary says. “Pay it forward, you know?”
He’s awesome, baby! The Dick Vitale you don’t see on TV
Untold stories of Dickie V, a good-hearted, boisterous and oversized personality who gives as much joy as he gets.
theathletic.com
Go Dick Vitale!!