Scott Van Pelt is as close to universally respected as anyone in sports media, and for plenty of good reasons. We got another example last night, as Van Pelt used his daily One Big Thing segment to talk about the 31st anniversary of his father’s death.
It’s wrenching, of course, but it’s not a message of despair:
“It was 31 years ago. How is that even possible? How can you even process something that makes as little sense as that? That I’m older now than he ever got to be? That he saw so little of the life his son got to live?”
Van Pelt closed with this, and the catch in his voice at the end says all you need to know about how important this was for him to say:
“Today isn’t worse than another day, it’s just another day. But to try to swallow it, to ignore it today, would be a mistake. So maybe it’s selfish to do it here, but it’s intentional. Because we all have our pain to deal with. And maybe it helps somebody else, or encourages someone to tell a loved one who’s still here how you feel. Maybe it doesn’t. Either way, I miss you dad. Today, and every day. And I hope you’d be proud of how it all turned out.”
Well said, in every sense.
The replies to Van Pelt’s tweet announcing the segment were all positive, and grew to include plenty of stories of how it hit home:
That was powerful @notthefakeSVP. My husband, who lost his Dad at age 4, this hit home! THANK YOU for doing what you do, as your words speak to many 🙏🏼
— Jaimi Sherman (@JaimiSherman) January 16, 2019
It’s the fraternity we don’t ask to join. 19 years for me in February.
— Chris Markoch (@chrismarkoch68) January 16, 2019
My favorite things about Scott and his show:
Funny, down to earth, genuine.
That was beautiful, man.
— chatham8 (@chathamjr8) January 16, 2019
SVP took notice this morning, too:
The texts and messages you’ve shared about the close to last nights show have been wonderful. They mean more than I can express. Please know how much they are appreciated.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) January 16, 2019
It looks like Van Pelt’s decision to be selfish ended up helping plenty of people.
