Steve Bowman and I drew the long straw today — we have the privilege of covering Steve Kennedy.
I’ve known Kennedy for years, admired him for years. We’ve fished together, commisserated over missed swimbait drops together, and I’ve openly lobbied to be adopted as the third child in the Kennedy family — but I’ve never covered him on the water.
That’s odd to me, because in addition to spending hundreds of hours on legends like KVD and Ike, I’ve also spent plenty of time on some forgettable also-rans. At the Conroe Classic, I was watching Brent Ehrler and Kennedy was on the other side of the brush berm — we could hear the cheering when he caught one, but couldn’t put eyes on him.
What I’ve always admired about him is his love of the game. You don’t have to enjoy competition to be a great tournament angler — just as there are neurosurgeons, Wal Mart greeters and musicians who don’t love their craft — but for those of us who’d give our right arm to have an ounce of his talent, it makes him more relatable.
If you remember that Conroe Classic, part of the greatness of the coverage is watching how much he loved catching those fish. He giggled. He showed them to the camera. He probably would have stayed out until dark if he didn’t have a weigh-in to attend.
Last night Julia Kennedy told me that if SK wins their kids have been promised a trip to Disney. Somehow, I have a feeling that’s as much for Steve as it is for the youngsters. Today I hope to get an E Ticket ride of my own.
It’s calm out, still cool but threatening to warm up in a hurry. If we see some big bait magic that’ll just be a bonus.