Sports community shows support in tough times

Sean Roberts, afternoon host of “Off the Bench” on Des Moines sports station KXnO, shared the news Monday of the passing of his father, Rick, on Saturday night.

Sean, a Chicago native, played baseball at Grand View University and got involved in working part-time at KXnO in 2014. He’s worked himself into the role of program director in addition to being co-host of the daily show from 2 to 5 p.m.

His father was an avid listener online from Chicago. Sean also serves as the in-game host and emcee for the Drake University men’s basketball team at the Knapp Center. He engages the crowd during home games, acting as the on-court host and public address announcer.

On the air Monday, Sean related how some people were surprised he still worked in that role at Sunday’s Drake vs. UNI game, just hours after he received the news about his father. He said there were the usual feelings about “dad would have wanted me to do it” and feeling guilty if he bailed on his responsibility at such short notice.

I can relate to how he was feeling that day. Sometimes you just need to do something to take your mind off the mountain of grief, and gain something from the support shown by those around you. It certainly happened to me just over 25 years ago.

Our son Brett was on the freshman football team that year and we were traveling to Jefferson to watch that game, and then I would cover the varsity game for the News Advertiser.

So, as we arrived just a little late to the freshman game, several people came up to me and told me the public address announcer had called for “Larry Peterson please report to the press box.”

This was the fall of 2000, and not all of us traveled with a cellular phone. So, I did not know my sisters had been trying to reach me. Someone they reached out to must have mentioned we were going to the football game in Jefferson.

When I got to the press box, there was a sheriff’s deputy waiting at the entrance. He informed me that my family is trying to reach me because my father had died in Fort Dodge.

Now, like Sean’s case, I had been visiting dad off and on for a few months including his stay at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for treatment of health issues. He’d suffered a heart attack a while earlier.

So, to lose dad wasn’t a total shock. But nothing had happened recently to indicate that, so it was still a jolt when those words hit me. I was in a fog as I walked down to tell Deb and youngest son Keith. I caught Brett outside the locker room after his game. He had heard the PA announcements during the game and was concerned there was something up in our family.

Deb asked what I wanted to do. I remember Jeff Young from the office had already heard the news and was on his way to cover the game for me if I wanted to leave. One of my sisters must have called the office and talked to him.

As Jeff arrived I asked if he could shoot photographs. He was a skilled photographer and could take one thing off of my plate. But, I said I preferred to still cover the game to write the article.

I was already there, and there was nothing I could do immediately in Fort Dodge. We could go home after the game, get some things packed, and head to Fort Dodge for a few days afterward.

Staying busy that night on my responsibility helped me get through it. Plus, it just helped to be around people. The mom of one of Brett’s teammates let me use her phone to catch up with my sisters.

Ironically, the coach then of JSPC based in Jefferson, now known as Greene County, was Bill Kibby. The same Bill Kibby who was head coach at St. Edmond when I was attending nearby Fort Dodge Senior High in the mid-1970s.

I mentioned to Bill in our postgame interview what had happened. I think because we both had Fort Dodge ties, he was especially nice and empathetic as we had a long conversation.

Likewise, Creston coach Dick Bergstrom was a friend. We had coached youth ball together. He was supportive that night.

What Sean will find, and probably already has found, is that the sports community in Iowa will rally around someone in need. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to work at the Drake game Sunday, but there were undoubtedly some benefits by being in that environment among friends and colleagues.

If you’re involved in something like sports or the arts, you’re never alone. They help you get through the tough times.