By John Robbins
By now you know that Bill Foley is out still wearing that damn Red Sox hat living his best life almost a full year removed from the iconic Butte Sports, that he himself, Bruce Sayler, and Ron Davis built almost 11 years ago. Don’t let him fool you though he’s still out chasing all the games but now he gets to truly watch and take them in and not stress about how fast the next story must go up, or whose kid he may have forgot to mention the night before.
You’ve also probably heard that Aaron Rodgers after 18 seasons is packing his bags and heading for The Big Apple to play for the “God damn Jets” ….
As a lifelong Packer fan, it was hard for me to like the idea of Rodgers taking over from the gun slinger Brett Favre, shoot I witnessed my first Super Bowl win with Favre and loss the following year to Elway and the Broncos.
Favre was hard not to like as he was quite comical and man could he throw a football, most of the time to the other team but damn he had a will to compete and win and just a love for the game that was unmatched. Change is hard after all.
Rodgers came in a few times for Favre one specifically against Dallas I remember, I didn’t think much of it at the time, I thought “this guy will never be Favre.”
Rodgers was young, he played with a chip on his shoulder, and he was cocky because he felt he was passed on by too many teams on draft night, so he put a sour taste in a lot of mouths early on, I even rooted for Favre on the Jets and the Vikings for the 2 years after Rodgers took over.
As time went on Rodgers really grew on me as a player and how confident he was in his play and himself by his uncanny ability to throw a football 60 yards with a flick of the wrist and lead a football team and gain their respect so fast. “One thing that isn’t debatable is I am the longest tenured Packer of all time” He led groups of men for 15 plus years and is embarking on a 16th just in different threads. Like Foley led Butte Sports for 10 years and is still doing it just in different threads as well.
Foley has a great new Podcast called the Butte Cast and it’s doing really well almost like he was meant to do it in his post sports writing life, it was even something I was able to be a part of when I first took this site over, and countless messages and questions exchanged since then.
During my interview with Bill, I talk about why I took this on, and that Butte Sports was still going to be the same, but different. Different being I have two young boys and a wife, and a full-time job outside of the Mining City Sports world and because I probably can’t tell you your ex’s new fling’s high school volleyball stats from 30 years ago.
For the better part of the past decade, Bill Foley and Aaron Rodgers have commanded their teams and roles like they were on auto pilot making it seem rather easy from the outside looking in. Savy veterans doing what was needed to get the job done or “GSD”.
Like Rodgers, before Foley left Butte Sports, he was this towns sports writing MVP he and Bruce both.
I’m here to tell you, there won’t be another Bill Foley to write like there was the past 10 years, Bill put countless hours into what he did, Bill went to college for journalism, Bill could tell me my great grandpas stats and what records he held some 60 years ago on the flip of a damn switch.
What I can tell you, I am a sports enthusiast, I live, eat, and breathe it ask anyone that knows me. I’ve coached countless youth teams, I coached at East Middle School for almost 10 years before getting my first crack at high school basketball. I’m around sports, my kids are around sports, and they are truly my passion.
I will set my mind to a common goal and achieve it, and although my knowledge may not run as deep as Foles it still exists and I love learning, I love being a part of a team, and most of all I love proving people wrong.
I will stand up for what I believe is right and I will concede when I know I am wrong.
I might not be able to cover the ground Foley did, but I will most certainly do my best. Most of the people have been so great with the transition and others not so much, its par for the course and the nature of this profession.
So, like Jordan Love has been waiting in the Shadows of a legend and the unknown he brings that’s me the new guy just waiting, learning, and passionate about the role and choice I took on.
Change is hard, but change is also the one most constant thing we see in our life, just stick with me as we embark on this new journey together.
Butte Sports will continue to post stories and cover local events, the site will be going down for a day or two as we give it a face lift and enhance some things, but before that happens, we will make posts to let everyone know.
In the meantime, continue to follow us here, on Facebook, and Twitter for updates and news, and don’t forget you can listen to Foley on his Pod cast atButtecast.com
Thanks Butte!
