For the stool to the right, 'thank you Bob' isn't nearly enough

A column is an opinion piece, with a writer sharing a point of view. This is a column about Bob Kesling. And I’m going to share my point of view on Bob, a point of view over the last 26 years that only I have had. 

Bob Kesling’s first game as Tennessee’s voice came on September 4, 1999 as the Vols beat Wyoming 42-17. That Saturday was also my first of 321 games on the front row to Bob’s right as his spotter. 

It’s a more daunting task than you might realize to be Bob Kesling’s spotter. 

First, you want to get it right for ‘Voice of the Vols’. Who is in the game, who throws the ball, runs the ball, catches the ball, tackles the guy with the ball, kicks the ball, etc. But being the spotter for the guy who used to be John Ward’s spotter? That’s pressure.  

John was very demanding, and Kesling lived up to the pressure as his spotter. When Bob left the Vol Network to join the Jefferson-Pilot television crew, replacing Kesling as John’s spotter was a point of real concern, especially for Ward.    

Why Bob picked me to be his spotter, I will never truly know. My audition for the role was a total disaster. 

In 1998, Bob was calling the SEC Championship game for SEC Radio, and he asked me to spot for him. I was all in, but admitted having no idea what ‘spotting’ really meant. I was so naive about it that I didn’t even bring any binoculars to the game. 

And yet, somehow he asked me to do the job for him the next 26 seasons. 

When I screwed up, Bob never blamed me. Instead, Bob helped me. And through that he gave me the confidence to grow not just as his spotter, but as a broadcaster. 

Kesling literally gave me the best seat in Neyland Stadium and opportunities for which I could never truly thank or repay him. My role as spotter morphed into reading the halftime stats, then hosting John Ward’s beloved “Spotlight on the SEC”, and the pregame injury report.  

Several years ago, Bob gave me my biggest opportunity. 

He gave me a headset and turned on the microphone for me to offer analysis and commentary during Tennessee Football games. He allowed me to ‘set the scene’ coming out of commercial breaks, and he allowed me to interject observations. Bob Kesling created a three-man booth for me. It was unorthodox, but he believed in it, in my ability to add something different and important, and he believed in me.

Bob’s trust and confidence has made me better on and off the air. His belief in me and his friendship has allowed me to have experiences that I never imagined when I was a kid at Gibbs High School. And, all the while, he has looked out for me in ways that people outside of the broadcasting profession will never understand. 

Bob took on the dubious task of replacing a legend and one of his biggest mentors. Many people under 40 don’t fully understand the magnitude of being ‘the next guy’ after John Ward. 

Whether you understand it or whether you don’t get it fully, think about this … when John Ward died in the summer of 2018, the University of Tennessee and Vol Radio Network partnered to have a massive memorial service in his honor. At the time of his death, John had not called a Tennessee game on radio in 19 years!  

Consider this, too … former Tennessee All-American tailback and head coach Johnny Majors didn’t receive that sort of celebration of life. Neither did the great Reggie White.

And if John Ward was that big a deal at the time of his death — 19 years after he had called his final Tennessee Basketball game — think about how beloved that he was when he put down his headset for the final time in 1999. 

Daunting to replace John Ward? You’re damn right. 

Bob Kesling knew the challenges that would bring, but he graciously did it his own way. He never tried to be anything other than himself despite the huge shadow over him from John Ward’s legacy.  That legacy includes regular John Ward reminders to Tennessee fans every gameday for the last 26 years — commercials, promos, social media hits and even Neyland Stadium replays featured on the stadium video boards. It has been harder than anyone could imagine, dealing with the massive John Ward shadow, but Bob has never complained, instead choosing to always do his best to be himself.

Bob has so much respect for the love that Tennessee fans have for John Ward and for Ward that he has never embraced the title of “Voice of the Vols”. Bob would always say, “John Ward was the Voice of the Vols” even when colleagues, friends and family would admonish him for not being accepting of a title that he earned. 

To Bob Kesling, it was never about titles, or worry about being upstaged by your predecessor, or comparisons to other broadcasters. It was about doing the job the right way and his way.   

That has meant being a professional regardless of how poorly the football teams have been, or how bad the radio booth sightlines might be. Bob followed Lindsey Nelson’s rule that no one listening wants to hear you complain; they want you to call game. 

And for 26 years, that’s exactly what Bob Kesling has done. He’s done it with class, and he’s done it as a pro.

I have seen it from an amazing point of view, a point of view that I will always appreciate Bob Kesling having given me.  

We’ve laughed together. We broke bread together. Bob has helped me through more than anyone will ever know. 

And he’s given me 26 autumns with the best seat and opportunities that I didn’t deserve. 

Thank you Bob, and happy retirement. But thank you isn’t nearly enough for all you have done for me and the Big Orange family.