Rocklin , Calif. – I've been fortunate to witness some of bass fishing's greatest moments first hand over the past several years. My job as an outdoor journalist has allowed me to see some of the sport's best in their shining moments of glory as they raise trophies overhead tied to significant financial rewards for a job well done.
Being a journalist I am forced to place my “fan” hat on backwards as events are occurring. When I am on site for an Elite Series or FLW event, I must push the personal feeling aside that I have for the anglers and the sport and work to report the story, to cover it with an objective eye.
While I have been an observer to the extraordinary in the past, nothing thus far has been as real and significant as February 22, 2009. If I am sincere, and for the sake of total disclosure, it was hard to maintain the journalistic focus as Skeet Reese held the Bassmaster Classic trophy aloft.
Being from northern California I've had the opportunity to fish and work around Skeet for many years. Like anyone who has been around the industry in our area can relate, I've heard and witnessed the evolution of his career. There is little embellishment in his rags to riches tales; from sleeping in the back of his open pickup truck on crisp fall nights when he couldn't spring for a motel to Bassmaster Classic Champion, it truly is a Cinderella tale, 20 years in the making
He is a tremendously gifted angler, one who can compete with the leviathan competition he faces every day and sustain excellence usually is. The Elite Series is no place for the squeamish, the anglers on that tour, even those in the second half of the points standings are among the best, they find and catch fish with the best of them. His reputation as a businessman in the sport is well earned as he is one of the most recognized endorsers in the game.
However, on that day as the shower of sparks and confetti rained down at Bossier City 's CenturyTel Center the reactions of the man overshadowed all of the business; the emotion displayed was from years of trying to crest the pinnacle of his profession. The trappings of his elite status had melted away in that moment and the joy of achieving a goal had overwhelmed him.
As impressive an accomplishment as winning the Classic is, the personal experience of being a part of the experience with Skeet, Kim and the girls was more striking. For an angler who can boast of healthy endorsement contracts, Skeet does not act like a hired gun; nor do his sponsors view him as one. The genuine excitement and very real emotion shared with the family by their business partners were those of family, of true respect and admiration, not those of capitalizing on a victory.
Even more moving was to witness the moments of realization begin to appear on the faces of Skeet and Kim as the “wow moments” began to happen. The dozens of phone calls and messages that poured in to their mobile phones began before he even stepped off the stage, and they continued well into the night. The family's first gathering backstage after their victory lap was touching as the look of pride beamed from their faces, spouses and children sharing their first quiet moments alone as bass fishing's “first family.”
The emotions of the moment continued to mount as they were greeted by some of his staunchest competitors and closest friends at the Champions Toast at the Shreveport Hilton. To see him met by the waiting crowd in the downstairs restaurant that included Ray Scott, all of his sponsors, and those anglers who would rather have been standing in his shoes at that precise moment was not only a moment for the champion, but a proud moment for the industry as a whole.
As the night waned into the late hours Reese bid adieu to the crowd who remained behind to help celebrate victory and another successful Classic, the celebration was winding down. Rest beckoned, as the business of being Classic Champion would begin earlier the next day than the work of becoming champion had begun the week prior. The “Car Wash” would begin with a too early wakeup call for his appearance on ESPN's Mike and Mike, followed by the procession of television, radio, print and Internet interviews that would continue until late into the evening.
The requests have ebbed only slightly since his moment of crowning, he would oblige them all, and he continues to, no matter the size of the publication or the reach of airwaves, the desire to spread his joy as Bassmaster Classic Champion him keeping him aloft, as high as he'd raised that trophy only a few days before.
For a champion such as he, the taste of victory leads only to the desire for more, and as the start of a new season looms, the drive to climb the peak of Mount Elite still fresh in his mind today as it was 25 years ago, when a teenager began his quest toward reaching the heights of an industry.
The heights of emotion are not as instant, and while the reality of the title may have begun to sink in, I know it has not settled. Another tournament awaits, another goal to strive for; competition days filled with focus, every day in between intent on carrying the mantle of Bassmaster Classic Champion; what a ride it will be.
