Last week Kevin VanDam completed a flurry of ESPN show appearances. Called the "car wash," it's something every Bassmaster Classic winner in recent years has been through.
As a four-time Classic champ, VanDam has been to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., several times to run the gantlet of high-profile interviews.
He was there in August 2010 after he won his sixth Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title. When he returned Feb. 24 as the 2011 Classic champ, he appeared on Mike & Mike, First Take, ESPN.com Page 2, SportsCenter and SportsNation. Live on SportsCenter, he didn't miss a beat. "Why do you catch more and bigger fish than anybody else?" the host asked in the 3-minute-plus interview. "I don't always," said VanDam.
"This weekend I made it all work out. I've got 21 years of experience now fishing professionally, and over that time I've learned a lot about how the bass react. A lot of people think there's a lot of luck in fishing, and there really isn't."