The Howell Family on stage with Emcee Dave Mercer after the win. Photo by Dan O’Sullivan
notable thing to me that he had done that. On top of all of that, Howell never landed any of the fish he caught subsequent to our arrival on the other side of the boat. On the couple of occasions that the action took him to that side of the boat, he calmly and carefully steered the fish to our side so we could capture the images for future use.
I know that some of you are reading this at this moment thinking that he is a sellout, that he shouldn’t care for one minute where the camera boats are, what he is wearing or what side of the boat he lands his fish on. But, the truth is, Howell understands the big picture that his job as a promotional angler is as important as his job as a professional angler; and he operates both of them with the same level of professionalism.
While I was at the Bassmaster Classic, I saw the same level of professionalism from Howell as he dealt with all of us in the media throughout the festivities leading up to and during the event. Then, if you watched the ESPN2 television coverage of the final day of the Classic, while Howell was busily catching bass after bass from the edges of the bridge leading into Spring Creek, he was entertaining the hundred or more fans that had gathered on the bridge by interacting with and engaging them.
Along with that, as he got the opportunity to talk to Tommy Sanders and Mark Zona on a GEICO Quotes
52
from the Boat segment,
he took the time to stop
fishing and sit down in the
boat for three minutes to
completely focus on the
conversation and give
them his full attention
- in the middle of the
Bassmaster Classic and
what would become his
best performance in his
21 years of professional
fishing.
Some of you
might be rolling your
eyes thinking that
he was being over
the top, and playing
it up for the cameras. You might criticize him for losing his focus on what was important and pandering to the cameras or the hype machine so many perceive professional bass fishing to be. Let me tell you this, you couldn’t be any farther from the truth.
The truth is, while all of these professional tournaments are athletic endeavors; competition that requires focus and dedication, they are something more. The Classic is an event; yes, and while the anglers are on the water providing the canvas and the implements for us to write history; they are also making a television show, an entertainment venue for the masses who tune in each week to watch it.
Howell did both of his jobs very well during Classic week. He fished well, he carried himself in an exemplary fashion and he made sure to allow those covering him the opportunity to record it as he went. He has always done an exceptional job at including all of those factors.
Because while it is true that a good man won the Classic, a true professional included all of us on his road to winning it. It is a perspective that few of us ever get to see, and he opened the curtains for more of us to see more of it. He represented his family, his sponsors, the sport and all of us included very well, and I, for one, am looking forward to his reign as Bassmaster Classic champion.
®