NMSooner'80
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- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
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Mike Roberts did the UNM Lobo football and men's basketball games for roughly 42 years. He was beloved almost statewide, and had some great calls of games like their wins over Utah in '98 (when Da Yoots were undefeated and the eventual NCAA hoops runnerup) and Arizona in '99 on a last-second shot.
I knew him well enough that I got to have some nice chats with Mike over the years. I hated being the one to break it to him that the Lobos had lost their prize forward recruit, some kid named Eduardo Najera, to OU. I like to think he realized I wasn't trying to gloat, just let him know about the signing because he had asked about it out loud on his drive-time show.
Mike did have a minor connection to OU, at least when it came to rare OU-UNM matchups in sports. He called one of the epic "Pit games" in December of '88, when OU pulled out a thrilled there. And the UNM folks brought him out to call the big "Pit game" in November of '05 when the OU women's team came to Albuquerque to play the locals. Normally, they had a regular "voice," but they wanted Mike for that one.
Roberts was revered to most in the sporting community, except to various print media hacks who resented his "homer" approach. I hope a few of those clowns realize they will never be missed the way Mike is being missed out in Albuquerque. He proved he was a pro who didn't feel the need to prove his professionalism by being a smart-aleck like so many media types do.
I knew him well enough that I got to have some nice chats with Mike over the years. I hated being the one to break it to him that the Lobos had lost their prize forward recruit, some kid named Eduardo Najera, to OU. I like to think he realized I wasn't trying to gloat, just let him know about the signing because he had asked about it out loud on his drive-time show.
Mike did have a minor connection to OU, at least when it came to rare OU-UNM matchups in sports. He called one of the epic "Pit games" in December of '88, when OU pulled out a thrilled there. And the UNM folks brought him out to call the big "Pit game" in November of '05 when the OU women's team came to Albuquerque to play the locals. Normally, they had a regular "voice," but they wanted Mike for that one.
Roberts was revered to most in the sporting community, except to various print media hacks who resented his "homer" approach. I hope a few of those clowns realize they will never be missed the way Mike is being missed out in Albuquerque. He proved he was a pro who didn't feel the need to prove his professionalism by being a smart-aleck like so many media types do.
