Thanksgiving With Skeet
“Yeah, you can be the greatest, you can be the best...”
Dateline: Charmington, New England
My Two ¢:
It is not you who I compete against, it is simply the mirror that is my biggest foe.
I sometimes dream that one day when I win something and look into the mirror nothing will be there.
And I’ll be done.
It’s not you who I chase.
I chase, me.
“…Breaking all the records they thought would never be broke…”
Game takes place on fields, tracks, courts and water.
Winning takes place within you, where you do it is just the field of play.
When everybody wins, everybody loses, that may make for playground smiles, but trust me, it doesn’t work out here.
I will hug you, I will care for you, I will protect you and love you but when you step on my field of play my only goal is to crush you, either come to play or sit in the stands.
And I’m not sorry about that.
That’s, How, It, Works.
db
“Pushing myself is in my DNA, it’s about taking on my fears and the internal struggles of not having self-worth and always seeking approval, perfection, and validation while escaping from life’s struggles. I want to keep doing. DOING”
Skeet Reese
Angler of the Year 2007
Bassmaster Classic Winner 2009
BASS Fishing Hall Of Fame Inductee 2024
Happy Thanksgiving.
This photo is of my first meeting/story with Skeet…
…Tuna fishing in the Atlantic out of Boston Harbor with my buddy, Mac.
They both caught Tuna, I got seasick and ate donuts.
I had no idea what a “Skeet” was.
Wrote an ESPN column about it back then, can’t find it on the internet, don’t remember much of the story except the part that the ocean is MUCH bigger than National Geographic Magazine photos make it out to be.
That was 17 years ago.
I know what a “Skeet” is now.
Your turn to find out.
Meet Skeet
“I was born competitive, I respect greatness. The competitive spirit never ends but you have to learn how to keep the mental mindset of winning.” Skeet
Quick little known story: On the day that Skeet won the Bassmaster Classic, the final day I had a brutal migraine, couldn’t get out of bed. I was staying in some small cabin like thing right next to a boat launch. I saw he won but was pissed I wasn’t there for it.
Suddenly I heard this massively loud noise, a sound I knew, Skeet’s monster truck, and when I looked out the window I saw him backing the truck down the ramp to hook up his boat, so…
…dressed mainly in those kind of clothes you only wear when home alone I open the door and walk over to the truck and when he sees me he jumps down from it and hugs me and suddenly two grown men are hugging and dancing around in circles on a boat ramp.
In thousands of sports moments, it is one I will never forget.
TRUE STORY.
MORE SKEET
“You know, db, a butt whooping helps.”
So speaking of KVD…
It is those giants in sports that you always remember, books are written about them, movies made, lore replaces accuracy.
Mickey Mantle & Roger Marris.
Ali & Frazier
Bird & Magic
Palmer & Nicklaus
Brady & Everyone Else
…and…
Skeet & KVD
“Yeah Kevin, yep.”
Skeet pauses some, tells me, “We weren’t always friends you know…”
I do.
“…we are now though and I’m happy with that.”
I am too.
“Kevin and I pushed each other, we motivated each other and we probably made each other better.”
Not to mention the sport.
Skeet wears the sport on his sleeve…
I have watched him be stoic on stage and later, alone at dinner, see, hear how much to win means to him.
One word said many times: “Validation.”
So too the words: “Childhood,” “Approval,” “Life Struggles.”
I try not to smile when he tells me these things because to be honest I’ve heard those words before…from the greats of the games, household names, those who chase the future while being constantly pursued by the past.
If you are a sports fan, put your money on those who chase while being pursued.
A Skeet Thanksgiving
This year is Skeet’s 27th year as a Professional Bass Angler.
Having been on the tour with him for many of those years my guess is he has been on the road and away from home 12-15 years easy when you add it all up.
It was nothing for many of us to leave our homes in March only to come back sometime in May.
It is how the gig works.
Thanksgiving is different, friends, family and home.
This is how I remember his daughters…
…I was shocked to learn that his two very young daughters, Lea & Courtney, beautiful young four or five year old girls…ARE NOW BOTH IN COLLEGE.
Good for them but gawd that hurts, backhand age slap right there.
Kim, his wife, also a good friend of mine…
…beautiful as ever and kind of like a worried sister to me who always reaches out to me when I’m ailing, will have the whole family and friends at their home this Thanksgiving, then the two of them off on vacation.
“The other day it was great here, I was home, Lea & Courtney were here, Kim and I spent I think 10 hours in our kitchen with them. We were just talking, cooking, laughing and dancing…db…that’s what I’m thankful for…that’s what…”
And for a moment Skeet goes quiet.
As do I.
NEXT
As our conversation winds down I ask Skeet, “What’s next,” and he laughs and says, “You know, NEXT.”
Um, so, huh.
“My company, Reese Fishing, our Rod Company.”
Oh, uh huh, brain fart, “So how’s that going, are you making a baitcaster and, um, you know, that other type of fishing pole.”
He is laughing, “You mean a spinning rod…”
I’m guessing I am meaning just that.
“Yep we are making both of those, will be coming out soon, I’m excited about it but it is hard, lots of stuff to handle, Kim helps out a lot, but I’m very excited about it.”
He tells me some more stuff about what he is making, I hear the word “Yellow” once or twice. Most of, no, all of the technical stuff goes over my head as I keep saying, “Uh huh, Uh huh…” while making an espresso.
Most times we understand each other completely.
Sometimes, technically, not so much.
Skeet Out
“I’m in a good place with my life db, you know what dude I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to do what I’m made to do, that’s you know, pretty special.”
And so on this Thanksgiving, I wish for you, as does Skeet, that you get to find out what it is that you were made to do, and that you get to do it.
It is indeed pretty freakin’ special when those two things come together.
Happy Thanksgiving
db, bb, boomer…along with Ashley, Jake, Jimmy, Chelsea & Logan too.
(along with riley in our hearts)
“…Standing in the Hall of Fame
And the world's gonna know your name
'Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the Hall of Fame.”
Hall of Fame
The Script
***For the record I was not paid any money/rods or reels or anything Yellow to write this story, should some donuts from California arrive on my doorstep though…I will eat them. There ya go truth in reporting!