Jim Nantz Reminds Us of the Influence of Fathers

Jim Nantz has been a busy guy.

The legendary CBS announcer called his 32nd—and final—NCAA men’s basketball championship game on April 3. This weekend, he’ll be hosting his 36^th Masters golf tournament. His smooth, even delivery and enduring professionalism have made him perhaps sports’ most recognizable voice. And every time he picks up a microphone for CBS Sports, he begins with two words: “Hello friends.”

And each time he uses that phrase, it’s a salute to his father.

According to an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show in 2017, Nantz says he came up with the phrase in 2002 during the PGA Championship. Nantz’s father was battling Alzheimer’s Disease then, a disease that would eventually claim his life in 2008. But even by 2002, the elder Jim Nantz had only “faint recognition of his son,” Nantz said.

But even as Nantz’s father was losing so much of himself, he retained what made him (according to Nantz) a wealthy man: his friends. “He had nothing but friends,” Nantz said. So before Nantz left for the championship, he told his dad that he’d be sending him a message on the telecast, and it was that phrase: Hello friends. He’s been using it ever since.

“I love it because for that little moment, I connect with my dad,” Nantz said. “And I feel like I’m talking to him.”

 In 2009, Nantz wrote a book called Always by My Side: The Healing Gift of a Father’s Love. He did an interview with Guideposts about his dad.

“My father gave everyone a chance,” Nantz said. “He was kind and open-hearted to everyone. Maybe sometimes that trust and that hope and optimism for that other person was betrayed. But it kept him happy. It kept him positive, and that’s how he looked at the world.”

In the interview, Nantz talks about how, when he was just 11 years old, he told his parents that one day he wanted to announce the Master’s tournament. His father told him that he could do exactly that—if he worked hard enough.

“That was really the advice,” Nantz said. “If you—if it’s something you want badly enough, work for it.”

That advice clearly worked out well for Nantz. But it’s not the advice that he remembers the most. In the Guideposts interview, he says that his dad taught him countless lessons. But, he adds, “I think the one that maybe stands out the most is just be kind to others.”

Just be kind.

Sometimes, I think we imagine that the people we see and hear on TV spring, fully formed, into our awareness. We forget that these people are, like all of us, molded by countless hands. And the hands that shape us the most are those of our parents.

Fathers are incredibly influential—by their presence or, all-too-commonly, by their absence. More than 20 million kids live in a home without a dad or stepdad in the mix. That vacuum shapes those kids: According to Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen, kids without dads are more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs, more likely to be involved in crime and violence and more likely to wind up in poverty. And while plenty of children are able to buck those stats, there’s no question that growing up without a dad in the house can be just one more hurdle in a world full of them.

Conversely, a dad’s presence can make a world of difference, too.

When Nantz said goodbye to the audience as the confetti fluttered down on the basketball court April 3, he took a minute or two to say thanks—to his friends, his family, CBS, the audience. And he said something else, too.

“Everybody has a dream,” he said. “Everybody has a story to tell. Just find that story. Be kind.”

Two more words, pulled from a lifetime of lessons from Jim Nantz’s own father. Be kind.

Think dads don’t make a difference? Jim Nantz would say, in that calm, honeyed voice of his, “You bet they do.”