20 01, 2022

Four Truths Learned Through Secret Shopping

There are over 1,300 college campuses throughout the country. While not everyone uses athletics as the proverbial “front porch” of the institution, a great number do. For those that sponsor the sport of football, each Saturday in the fall provides an opportunity for the caretakers of the college to bring people to campus and provide a respite from the routine of the day-to-day. In our experience of assessing game day environments through “Secret Shopping,” we step into the shoes of the customer. Each time 2D sets foot on campus, we set out on the fan’s journey. In our travels, there [...]

2 06, 2021

Fast Forward and Rewind

Where will you be when the sound of the horn signals the end of his time in his home arena, when the college basketball world pauses, when our minds turn towards recognizing what has happened? Will you be sad to see him go, or will you be happy that he was here? When you look ahead to March 5, 2022, at the conclusion of the latest installment of the storied North Carolina and Duke rivalry on the hardwoods, how do you think you will react to Mike Krzyzewski walking off the court, his court, for the very last time? Before [...]

26 10, 2020

Living with My Wife, Three Cats, and Those Asterisks*

While its certainly convenient now during the fourth quarter to recall my childlike enthusiasm for 2020 within the first fourteen days of January, I find that I’m at a place where I need to take stock. There is no apt way to put emotions or logic into a neat little box, or pack them into tidy paragraphs. What has happened has happened and, like most everyone on the planet, I mentally toil with how to move forward. As though I'd slammed a full pot of high-octane coffee a few days after the start of the year, I was bouncing with [...]

6 10, 2020

Hire Me!

I’m fond of saying, “While I haven’t seen it all yet, I’m getting pretty close.” Seems like a flippant comment during these troubling times, but it does provide a bit of a reminder. We can’t lose sight that there are many days ahead of us and, if we are fortunate to live long, there will be things we experience that are expected, surreal, pleasantly surprising, dumbfounding, and outlandish. We will see a great deal and the adventure will take decades to unfold and the notable moments will take years to reveal themselves. Having been fired three times in my career, [...]

31 10, 2018

College Basketball Public Address Roundtable

Join Chuck White (UCLA), Patrick Whitmer (Kentucky), Jim Bachman (Villanova), and myself (Duke) as four public address announcers for these high profile basketball programs go "behind the mic." If video doesn't load correctly, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq9-mgPLH1Q   Audio for those who just want to listen.    

25 06, 2018

24 Hours in Baseball – A Historic Night in 1988

A repost from a few years ago: On June 24th (and 25th) in 1988, I experienced something that very few have had the opportunity. From my seat in the dugout of the Burlington Indians of the Appalachian League affiliate, I was part of history; history, to this day, that is unmatched. Here is - part - of my story.

19 07, 2016

What I Came to Realize While in a Restroom

I stood at the urinal and, looking to my right, I noticed the Executive Chef. “Nice job tonight,” I offered gently. Turning over his shoulder he said, “Thank you. Wahdyah have?” I am in Boston. I stared at the porcelain tiles ahead of me and, at that moment, I realized that everything I had heard 74 hours ago – all that I had been struggling with – finally made sense. My wife and I come here every eighteen months or so, just to change our scenery and to visit our old haunts, to eat good food and to share the [...]

1 06, 2016

A $2.00 Check and The Story Behind It

It happened over three years ago and the impression still lasts. In November 2012, my wife dispatched me to the hardware superstore to purchase a cleaner for our granite counter tops. When I returned home it was made very evident that I bought the wrong product. She wanted the can that was wrapped in the image of granite not the trigger spray purple plastic bottle that was in my hand. With head hung, I hopped back in the Jeep for the return run. With the correct can in hand, I walked through the back door of the house and handed [...]

29 03, 2016

Where Did the “Thank You” Go?

And now, I climb upon my soapbox. Please bear with me for two minutes. My wife and I recently traveled to Washington, DC. While in the district, we had lunch at a hopping spot, a restaurant filled with power brokers and tourists. I watched one table as a waitress refilled the iced tea of a customer that I figured to be in his mid-twenties. He continued to talk as she continued to pour. As she left the table, he didn’t flinch in her direction. He kept on talking to his lunch mate. Today, I walked into a stationary and gift [...]

2 01, 2016

Fifteen Minutes at a Time

For fifteen years I only knew Mike Cleary for fifteen minutes at a time, not nearly enough looking back on it now that Mr. Clearly has gone away. While he knew me, I don’t think I ever really knew him. It wasn’t until his obituary over the New Year’s weekend that I realized the breadth of his influence, the depth of his vision, and the height of his popularity. He recognized my face each June, whether we would shake hands in Florida, California, Texas or any of the other stops of the NACDA and affiliates convention. He was the founder [...]

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