[Ohio-talk] A Blast from the Past

[Cheryl Fields]

Go Cavs! There is nothing like a great announcer for sports, those on radio
are the best. Who do you like in the super bowl? I am going to the store on
Saturday to make sure the proper treats are in place for Sunday, lol!  Since
the Browns are not playing, it's all about the treats, no kidding! Cheryl

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Smith, JW
via Ohio-talk
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2015 2:22 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List (ohio-talk at nfbnet.org);
gwunder at nfb.org; cort schneider (bobcatwin3 at yahoo.com); Miller, Kevin
(Kevin.Miller at ood.ohio.gov); Duncan, Melinda (mindy.duncan at ood.ohio.gov);
Eisenstein, Russ; Lewis, Carolyn; joshelynsmith at yahoo.com; kh292311-forward;
Butterworth, Michael
Subject: [Ohio-talk] A Blast from the Past

Dear NFB of Ohio  Family, Friends and Colleagues,

I was going through some old newspaper articles that have collected in my
desk and I found a copy of the following article which you might find to be
of some interest. I am including the link here as well as cutting and
pasting it below.

Jw


http://www.thepostathens.com/article_cc866ba9-10ba-522f-9ede-e17b3f73ef61.ht
ml


J.W. Smith has attended Ohio basketball games for the better part of the
past 15 years, yet he has never seen a single shot.

The associate communications professor was there when Gary Trent helped
power Ohio to a Mid-American Conference Championship and was in his office
later that season when Trent told him that he would forgo his senior season
and enter the NBA Draft.

He was there, in the second row at the 2005 MAC Championship, getting hugs
from the team after Leon Williams' tip-in at the buzzer sent the Bobcats
dancing.

He's there at just about every Bobcat home game with his 14-year-old
daughter, Joshelyn ' or any other Ohio fan willing to go with him ' sitting
as close as possible to the floor with the voice of play-by-play announcer
Warren Swain humming through his headphones.

The 49-year-old has, and will continue, to go to Bobcat games ' despite the
fact that he's been blind since he was three.

I love the sounds said Smith, who was born with infantile glaucoma in one
eye and later lost the vision in his other eye after an accident. Even
though I can't physically see I love the sounds of the ball on the court the
whistles and the hits on the field.

To hear (former Bobcats' announcer) Derek Scott or somebody announce a play
and then feel it and hear it at the same time it's pretty cool.

Smith admits, though, that he wasn't exactly in a hurry to add Ohio to his
list of favorite teams when he arrived in Athens 16 years ago. Growing up in
a non-sports family, Smith learned to love sports on his own. A die-hard
Chicago Cubs fan, he began following the Indiana Hoosiers while attending
the university in the late '70s.

So when Smith came to Athens, he was less than enthralled with the athletic
landscape. That was until Trent took one of his classes during the team's
MAC championship run in the 1994-95 season.

The first few years I was here I was like 'It's all right ' Smith said.
(But) when you have somebody in your class like that and you have a season
like that and to just get to watch that.



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