Kevin Beers, the voice of the Oakland (MI) University Golden Grizzlies, joins us in this episode. Kevin has been the O'rena's public address announcer since 2004.
His roots in the Detroit-area - and fandom of the home teams - goes back even further. A graduate of Walled Lake Central HS, Kevin recalls early trips to Detroit's Tiger Stadium with his father to Kevin's favorite Tiger, Aurelio Rodriquez.
Beyond watching Rodriguez pick it at the hot corner in Detroit, Kevin's love of sports began thanks to being neighbors of high school star and future Michigan State University defensive back, Mike Imhoff, who was later tragically killed in an after school shooting in Hernando, FL, where he coached.
Kevin also recalls plenty of trips to the Pontiac Silverdome to see the Detroit Lions and Hall of Famer, Barry Sanders, as well as the Detroit Pistons of the early-to-mid-1980s when a buddy would get Kevin and his friends into courtside seats after halftime.
We also touch on his time at Central Michigan University during the Coach Jay Smith-era, his introduction to broadcasting, and how he came to be the voice of the O'rena. Kevin even gives us a sample of one of his signature calls when OU's Travis Bader was lighting up the scoreboard from deep in the early 2010s.
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