Voice of the Kingdom - Part I
 

http://kan.scout.com/2/753447.html

When you follow Kansas City Broadcaster Mitch Holthus around for a week, you discover things you never knew, both about the Chiefs and about the eight-time Kansas Sportscaster of the Year.

It’s more than being the spokesperson of an NFL team for Holthus. It’s his responsibility to deliver the Chiefs’ message to each and every one of the 56 radio affiliates spread out over six Midwestern states.

The message is the same regardless of the size of the market. If there’s a Chiefs fan in Falls City, Nebraska, Atlantic, Iowa, Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Wellington, Kansas or Monett, Missouri, Holthus wants to reach them all.

If you can’t watch the Chiefs on television or attend a game in Kansas City, Holthus will guide you through the web of plays and leave you feeling all the emotions the fans in the stadium do during a three-hour broadcast.

That’s what makes Holthus the NFL’s premier radio broadcaster. His goal isn’t to deliver just the game he sees with his own eyes, but to educate you on something you didn’t know about a player on the field.

And of course, you’ll get his signature calls (“Touchdown, Kansas City!”) that have been a part of his broadcasts since his Kansas State days. Everyone took notice of this new kid when the Wildcats finally beat Oklahoma in the 1980s and Holthus let loose a classic line:

“For the first time since Exodus chapter 17, the Red Sea has been parted and Pharaoh’s Sooner chariots have been swallowed up! Bill “Moses” Snyder says let my people go from 23 years of Sooner bondage!”

The Smith County, Kansas native grew up on a working farm, doing whatever chores his parents, Edlean and Kathy Holthus, deemed necessary. It was during those days that Holthus learned his work ethic, according to his father.

“I’m so appreciative that I got to grow up in that environment,” he said. “There was good and bad. The good was that you developed an imagination on the farm. I love sports, neither one of my brothers did, so I was playing imaginary games and broadcasting them in all the sports.”

“I would have a radio going and play it out as I was listening to the radio. When people say ‘where do you come up with all of that stuff,’ I think it started early on, because I had to be imaginative. It gave my mind a chance to be creative, and not playing a video game or something, it was all in my mind.”

Of course, there were negatives. Growing up in a small town miles away from bigger cities, Holthus rarely got to see professional or even college sports live. He appreciated the annual trips to Kansas City to see Kansas State or the Royals play.

“My parents would take me to like one K-State football game a year, and I thought that was like the Rose Bowl,” said Holthus. “I’d live for it. They’d take me to Kansas City for a weekend to a baseball game in August, when the harvest was done, between harvest and school.”

Those rare moments fed his appetite for sports. He was a long way from the bright lights of an NFL Stadium, but never stopped dreaming. He knew early on what he wanted to do, even if getting there would be a struggle. Without those early days on the farm, his life may have taken a different direction.

“You had to work,” said Holthus. “Even though I wasn’t the best farm kid, there was a part of me that didn’t want to embrace it so much, because I knew there was some world out there that I wanted to experience and live. I thought that ‘if I get into this, this is what I’ll be doing all my life.”

Instead, Holthus now lives what he calls his “dream job.” I went inside his world for seven days early last season, before the Chiefs played the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium.

MONDAY

As my week started, I met the Voice of the Chiefs at Metro Sports, where Holthus records his “Mitch’s Minute,” a short segment broadcast to numerous TV stations across the Midwest. It’s sent to 10 different markets and over 21 radio affiliates.

At this point, Holthus begins to define his game plan for the upcoming week. Even though he records his “Minute” on Monday, it doesn’t appear in some markets until late in the week. That means his information has to be pertinent towards a game that’s six days away.

With the Bengals coming in that week, Mitch talked about how KC’s defense might attempt to stop wide receiver Chad Johnson. Holthus had a basic script for his brief segment, but after talking to his producer Sean ‘The Blade’ Beldin (everyone gets a nickname if you know Mitch), it’s clear they go over everything in precise detail.

In a couple of takes, Holthus has his minute done and moves on. He then has a brief meeting with his secretary, who makes sure everything is ready for his Monday night radio show.

Then the fun begins. Though he’s obviously not on KC’s coaching staff, Holthus still invests time in film study of the Chiefs’ upcoming opponent every week. On this day we moved to Arrowhead and right into the film room to take a look at the Bengals. For a couple of hours we reviewed Cincinnati’s offense in their defeats against the Browns and Patriots.

On this day, Holthus was impressed by Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer.

“This game gives me somewhat of an ill feeling because Palmer has the ability to throw the ball vertically,” he said. “It’s something he does in his sleep. He can throw in between zones. Even if you play two-deep zone like the Chiefs do, he has the ability to pinpoint the ball between the corner and the safety.”

Holthus continued as we examined Palmer’s precise footwork in the pocket, and even compared him to Brodie Croyle at one point, who moved well in mop-up duty against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was fascinating, to say the least.

But why study film? Because Holthus wants to be as prepared as possible, and as the film work unfolds he logs information from each review session into his memory. His head is filled with notes that are eventually worked into his broadcasts.

It’s not all in his head, however. Holthus uses small, color-coded, cardboard storyboards that are highlighted and detailed with just enough verbiage for use on gamedays. He keeps them from year to year and updates them each week.

Each card uses orange highlights focusing on a player’s particular stats against the Chiefs. Brown highlights indicate how that player fits into the Chiefs Kingdom.

And Monday nights after Sunday games, he reaches out and touches members of that Kingdom with his weekly show. It’s here where Holthus lets down any walls he may put up in public. Around the NFL there are not many teams with shows like this one, events that encourage fan participation.

Holthus affectionately refers to each member in his audience as a “geek.” There’s “Snowstorm Sandy Geek,” “Second Mortgage Becky Geek,” “Civil War Geek,” “Poofhead Geek,” “Suzie Bling Bling Geek” and “Slingblade Geek,” to name a few. I was anointed as “Warpaint Geek.”

Every Chiefs fan should see this show in person. Before it starts, Holthus makes the rounds like a comedian prepping the audience before the Tonight Show. He gets his “geeks” laughing and introduces any special guests.

The audience also participates throughout the show. “X-Factor,” a local member of the Chiefs Superfans club, chimes out a theme for the show each week. This week it was “Mangle the Bangles,” and on cue he would repeat it during the evening. It’s this kind of participation that separates Holthus’ Chiefs Kingdom show from any other radio event in Kansas City.

Holthus also has an ability to put his guests at ease and make them comfortable. This night, defensive end Tamba Hali, a player who isn’t exactly known for long-winded answers, showed up. But Holthus gets Hali to open up, which is particularly tough to do after a loss (the Chiefs had lost to the Jaguars the day before).

TUESDAY

With Herm Edwards’ press conference set for late morning, Holthus listens in for any information he can use in his Sunday broadcast. Prior to that he and I headed to the KCFX studios, where Holthus and his producer, John Taylor, record all of the promotions required for the upcoming Kingdom shows.

This was our shortest day of the week together. After watching the Bengals’ defense for an hour at the Arrowhead Stadium film room, Holthus headed down to Wichita, Kansas with former Chiefs All-Pro guard Will Shields for a charity function. It would be a one-day trip, but it’s part of his routine each week. His day didn’t end until he returned home sometime after midnight.

WEDNESDAY

Back to the Bengals film again. Today we concentrated on Cincinnati’s defense, and it was again fascinating. Being able to see coach’s film is truly a treat - to be able to do that before every game gives you insight into every facet of the upcoming opponent.

Because Holthus has access to weeks and even years of film, he can slide back and forth between a single play and separate games. We looked at the Bengals’ defensive performance from a year ago in the 2006 season opener, a game that saw former Chiefs quarterback Trent Green take a nasty, career-threatening hit.

Holthus knew he’d have to incorporate the memory of that hit into his broadcast and also in his weekly TV Show – Chiefs Insider. Though it was pretty obvious on film that the Bengals were not a good defense, more concerning for Holthus was Kansas City’s offense.

The Chiefs offensive woes in the Red Zone were glaring before the Cincinnati game - 10 marches into it and only two touchdowns out of it. The problem was clearly exposed on film.

Holthus and I looked at every single Red Zone drive by the Chiefs to date this season, and there was one glaring theme - the offense bogged down because it didn’t use the middle of the field. For the most part, the plays went to the outside, safe passes that were either incomplete or caught for short yardage. The running plays were bogged down up front because defenses constantly collapsed to the inside.

The game film doesn’t lie. You get two angles behind the quarterback and the other comes from high above the stadium. You can see the entire play unfold. Nothing is missed. There is no place to hide, and that’s why the team watches film as a group after every game.

Holthus’ goal with his video homework isn’t to be critical, however. It’s to lay the groundwork for the best broadcast possible for the Chiefs Kingdom. That’s always the central theme. It’s easy to be critical, but Holthus has to keep the fans listening and interested through good and bad.

As we wrapped up film study, it was obvious there’s so much information to be observed and absorbed before Sunday. It’s a wonder how Holthus keeps it together, or for that matter, remembers it all.

It took me a while to figure out just how he does it, and on Thursday I saw it first hand.

Tomorrow: Thursday and Friday with Mitch Holthus

Sunday: Saturday and Gameday with Holthus

Long... but Clayton, just a little note in case you're still editing Nick's work. It's very easy to write confusing passages, and this is one.

The natural order of things would be to include a quote from the father here, so having a "he said" in the quote adds to confusion over who said the quote. Might have either re-ordered the passage, or simply used Holthus' name rather than the ambiguous "he".

Just a note, hoping to help you out a little. Please don't take this as an affront to your ability - we all can learn. You're not as far along as you will be five years from now, and I'm not as far along as I will be five years from now.

Take this as constructive criticism.

I'm further along than I will be five yeras from now and quickly regressing...

In a series of city names and states you should use a sequence of ;'s and ,'s.

He's got commas there, but what you're suggesting with semicolons is incorrect in this usage.

Would read better, though, if he'd abbreviated (using either two-letter postal codes or AP versions) the states.

or...

Yeah, I think I was paraphrasing. Throwaway quote from dad.

I thought it was "Minute with Mitch", and not "Mitch's Minute"

“For the first time since Exodus chapter 17, the Red Sea has been parted and Pharaoh’s Sooner chariots have been swallowed up! Bill “Moses” Snyder says let my people go from 23 years of Sooner bondage!”


LMAO ****in Mitch.

That's what makes Mitch great. :D

Here's Part II.

http://kan.scout.com/2/753767.html

THURSDAY

This is probably the biggest day of the workweek for Holthus outside of Sunday. He records his weekly TV show, Chiefs Insider, a program that appears on various markets around the Midwest. He’s perfected it to an art form.

Holthus is so comfortable doing the show he doesn’t require multiple takes. As he stares into the camera he has a teleprompter, but it’s there for backup purposes only. He knows the Chiefs so well, and he’s such a pro at delivering his dialogue, that he makes it look effortless. Every line is so matter of fact that it’s not only informative to the average fan, but also reaches even the most ardent.

To pull this off, Holthus employs a crew that’s as engaging and passionate about the work as he is. Producer Tom Stephens has worked on Chiefs Insider for seven years.

“Mitch is a legend in my mind,” said Stephens. “He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever worked with. He’s the glue that holds it together. He has so much information in his head it astounds me. He’s always pulling something out of his head. I call them Mitch-isms.”

“He really does care about the team and Kansas City, because this is his life. We bring people information every week and we can’t sugar coat it. They want to feel connected.”

That’s what Holthus does best. His easy style really shines though in the interview process.

Today, his guest was defensive end Jared Allen. Anyone who has spent time with Kansas City’s former sack-happy pass rusher knows that at any moment, something can come out of his mouth that might change the course of the interview, so Holthus had to be prepared for anything.

But he had a game plan, and as the conversation evolved, Holthus allowed Allen to dictate the direction of the interview instead of the other way around, as most in the profession do.

Holthus hadn’t planned to talk about Allen’s off-the-field issues because he doesn’t feel that a player’s personal life is really all that pertinent to the interview, unless it’s a destructive influence to the team. But Allen was candid and it made for an interesting six minutes, as Holthus just let it evolve.

“I have a template that I go in with what I want to ask them,” he said. “The best interviewers are those who follow the lead of the person you’re interviewing. They take you places that you didn’t think you’d go or you knew about. The good interviewers listen.”

Next up was Herm Edwards, who entered with a fresh haircut from the staff barber.

As Edwards sat down, he remarked that the makeshift TV studio the Chiefs Insider crew works in formerly served as his office, when he was a scout with the team in the 90s.

It was clear Holthus and Edwards have an excellent relationship - you can’t be the voice of any team without knowing the head coach well. But Holthus still maintains a professional demeanor on camera.

“Herm is the expert,” said Holthus. “I’ve watched the tapes and I’ve prepared for the interview. Does the fan come out in me? Yes, but it’s not the time or place. When it does come out in me is when I have a private conversation. I do that not to get something out of him, but to get validation of something I’ve seen in my week of preparation.”

“In the context of the show, Herm needs to say it. I call this the ‘spectrum of journalism.’ On one end of the spectrum is the beat writer, the neutral observer. Yes, I’m a neutral observer, and I hate to be called the homer. I’m not a homer, but I’m the Voice of the Chiefs. So my job is to phrase a question in a manner that allows, in this instance, Herm to have the license to answer it in any way he sees fit. But it has to be from the Chiefs perspective.”

The show tapes on Thursday but isn’t seen in most markets until Sunday morning. That’s never lost on Holthus, or his guests – it takes some foresight on their part to make sure that viewers who take in Chiefs Insider before Sunday’s game are treated to 30 minutes of timely insight.

“You have got to be as pertinent and accurate as you can be,” said Holthus, “But there can be a lot of changes between Thursday and Sunday,”

After he’s done taping the show, Holthus calls in to several radio stations that require his expert analysis. He appears on dozens per week, and on this occasion minutes after he had completed his duties with the TV show. He picks up a red phone in the control room and answers the exact same questions he’d answered all week, but does so as if he’s being asked these questions for the first time.

Thursday was action-packed, but Friday morning, everything I thought I knew about Mitch Holthus changed.

FRIDAY

There was no stop at Arrowhead Stadium today. At roughly 7:00 AM, I met Holthus at Blue Valley Northwest High School. This is the side of Holthus few people who listen to him on the radio know about – he’s a motivational speaker.

On this day Holthus talked with the people behind the scenes in the Blue Valley School Districts. For 60 minutes, he met with a wide variety of employees, from office personnel, janitors, cafeteria personnel and maintenance crews.

Not an easy task, especially so early in the morning, but Holthus’ easy style held their attention. He drew them in first by discussing the area’s three major universities - Kansas, Missouri and Kansas State. First, he polled the audience to identify the best target for mockery, and then attacked.

This introduction gets the audience loose, so they can relax, but the mood soon turned serious, and the audience saw a different side of Holthus, one of tremendous passion and depth.

He began by talking about the Civil War and John Tuxhorn, his great, great, great grandfather, who fought alongside both blacks and whites with the Second Kansas Cavalry.

Tuxhorn eventually was captured and was a prisoner of war in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was later exchanged as an injured prisoner, leading to his freedom at a time when most, if not all, of the black soldiers he had fought with were being hunted down and executed.

To give the story a visual, he played a clip from the movie Glory.

After his release, Tuxhorn went back to southeast Nebraska to try his hand at farming (he had failed in an attempt prior to the war). He succeeded but that wasn’t enough for Tuxhorn, who along with six other families, built a brownstone church in the middle of nowhere between Auburn and Humboldt, Nebraska.

It now serves as a place of sanctuary for Holthus and his family. He takes them there whenever he can because he wants this generation - and those yet to come - to understand the sacrifices made for them others during the Civil War.

Holthus further explained to the audience with pride the point was that no matter the task, working together side-by-side with each other was imperative. The message was heartwarming, but he could not lose his audience, so he went back to his bread and butter – the Chiefs.

Holthus played an NFL Films clip featuring Kansas City’s struggles to get to Super Bowl IV, focusing mainly on a goal-line stand against the Jets in an AFL Divisional playoff game, where the Chiefs stopped New York’s offense at the 1-yard line.

Holthus referred to it as ‘36 inches that would define these men.’ The theme was vertical accountability - no matter the job, no matter what you do for a living or what team you play for, you have certain accountability to those you work with side by side.

For Holthus to hit that common cord with his audience, he had to bring his own life experiences to the table. He struggled to find his way as an NFL broadcaster after 13 seasons at Kansas State, where he was something of a local hero and celebrity. He was the voice of the Wildcat Nation during a time when they were evolving much like the Chiefs are today.

He wanted an NFL job, but knew only 32 were available. Undaunted, in his first attempt to land such a job he interviewed with the Chicago Bears who were in the midst of a search to replace veteran broadcaster Wayne Larrivee. Once word got out, over 300 people applied for the play-by-play job. When the final decision came down two weeks later, Holthus was in the top two.

Chicago told Holthus it was looking good until, at the last minute, Larrivee decided to continue his broadcast duties with the Bears. Holthus was devastated, but pushed onward with a recommendation for the job with the Minnesota Vikings. Unfortunately, he got the same result, and was passed over in favor of Dan Rowe. The same thing happened in Atlanta, where Dan Durham won out.

At that point, Holthus had to wonder if he’d ever get another shot, but in 1983 the Kansas City Royals had an opening in their TV broadcasts. It all looked good again, and his lack of baseball experience wasn’t a major issue. But yet again, he lost out - this time to Dave Armstrong. Even worse, Holthus learned he had been beaten out for the job by reading about it in the Kansas City Star.

Finally, one last door opened. With Kevin Harlan ending his reign as the Chiefs’ play-by-play man, the team went on a mission to find his replacement. Holthus had filled in for Harlan for one game in 1991, so he interviewed, but went on with his business as a baseball broadcaster that spring.

“Kevin auditioned for television and he gets the job, so I decided to apply thinking ‘I know I’ve had my heart ripped out several times, but I’m the only guy other than Harlan who has broadcasted a Chiefs game since 1984,” said Holthus. “Heck yeah, I’m going to go for it. I was disappointed because I was getting inklings that Carl Peterson didn’t necessarily want me, but enough people convinced him to give me a shot.”

The search narrowed and Peterson finally made the decision. It was then that Holthus finally got the call he been dreaming about his entire life.

“I was doing a baseball game at K-State, but I had given the Chiefs the press box phone,” he said. “I remember the phone rang and they said ‘you’ve got it.’ I had left the game before it was over because I told the guy ‘you’re finishing this game,’ because I was not going to let it rest. I stayed right on it and said ‘hey, where do I sign?’ I was not going to let it drift away in a 24-hour period because I had had that burn before.”

“It’s the best job of all those. If you had said hey, pick your job and you listed all of those including the Royals job, it would have been the Chiefs job. It’s the team I grew up with. Sunday afternoons when I was a kid after church I couldn’t wait for the NBC game with Charlie Jones. I’d have my little uniform on and I’d go out and play the game myself. I even had the #16 jersey I wore. I think of that when I make my drive to the stadium. I think about those Sunday afternoons playing the AFL game out in my mind.”

As the morning moved on at Blue Valley North High School, there were two more sessions featuring smaller, more intimate crowds. During the second, Holthus showed another side of his life, that of a parent.

He pointed out that we live in an age where we try and deal with our children as if the only weapon we have is our personal laptops. His message was that you can’t take shortcuts in raising children.

“We think all of our kids will get straight A’s, be the homecoming queen, a star athlete and make the game winning shot in a basketball game,” said Holthus. “It’s unrealistic and it’s the worst thing we can do for our kids.”

“The best thing we can do is love them and tell them how special they are and then build them an environment based on discipline, give them some self-esteem and love and let them go. Let them experience the experience.”

This was particularly true in the case of Holthus’ own son, Brian, who entered a high-school football game as a 110-pound freshman quarterback, only to fumble on consecutive snaps. It was a learning experience, to say the least, but Brian would overcome that and eventually became an All-State passer by his senior season.

The same thing happened to the younger Holthus again in college, as a starting point guard at Southwest College. As a freshman, Brian’s team won only three games, and he felt like quitting. At his father’s urging, however, he gave it another year – only to be voted out as the starting point guard during the winter break.

But finally, in his junior and senior seasons, Brian’s team found success, winning 32 games in two years. Brian was voted team captain, and his coach expressed the sentiment on Senior Night that he hoped his soon-to-be-born child would someday grow up to be exactly like Brian.

It was a proud moment for the elder Holthus for sure, and at that moment he understood his son had gone through the process. He didn’t skip any steps

“There were no shortcuts and it wasn’t easy for this kid,” said Holthus. “He made it all the way though and I’ll never forget the moment. He taught me that there is pride in the process and you can embrace it and there is value in doing it.”

As the session ended and the audience moved out of the auditorium, three women came forward to thank Holthus for his words. What was amazing, however, was how each began to share personal stories of their own struggles. It showed the true impact of these motivational sessions.

“It happens all the time,” said Holthus. “There’s a sense of satisfaction, because you feel like you’re having a bigger impact than just broadcasting NFL football games. There’s a bigger role in being the Voice of the Chiefs than just broadcasting games. If it allows you a conduit to help people out, to affect their life in a positive way, then that’s what I feel like I’m commissioned to do.”

“It’s like players that do it too, there’s a much bigger picture to all of this than just broadcasting a game. And so, when people email me, they call me, they come up and say we appreciate what you said, and how you approach this talk, or this time, and you had a positive impact on my life, I now have the courage or feeling that I want to change something and make it better, then I understand that there’s some satisfaction in that maybe I am holding up my end of the bargain, because I am in a way living a dream.”

At this moment, it was apparent Holthus might truly have another calling, one that could have an even more profound impact on the lives of many people outside the Chiefs Kingdom.

“There’s a scripture that says to whom has been given, much is required,” said Holthus. “I think because of the fact that God’s allowed me to have a ‘dream job,’ so to speak, there’s a responsibility and a requirement to help others.”

The morning was draining, to say the least, but Holthus had one more seminar that afternoon at St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City. The response was similar, the results the same and the crowd was pleased.

Friday: Mitch Holthus – Voice of the Kingdom – Part I

Tomorrow: Part III Saturday and Gameday with Mitch Holthus

Here's Part III. Hope you guys enjoyed this.

http://kan.scout.com/2/753946.html

In the final installment of Voice of the Kingdom, we journey inside the world of Mitch Holthus on gameday at Arrowhead Stadium.

SATURDAY

When he’s not on the road with the Chiefs, the only downtime Holthus has is Friday night, when he might catch a local high school game, or on Saturdays if he’s not doing a Missouri Valley Conference football game.

Saturday is a day to do some last minute prep work for Sunday’s game, but Holthus does his best to spend time with his wife, Tami. On the road, however, it’s another story.

Holthus plots his time so precisely he budgets when he can get some extra shuteye. Sleep eludes him during the week, and with Raiders’ week beginning after the Bengals’ visit, he can grab an entire day of sleep because the Chiefs leave two days early for West-coast trips.

There are perks, but Sunday is the best.

SUNDAY

This is the money day. The day in which all the hard work comes to a conclusion and may generate another “Mitch-ism” that will go down in the history books of Chiefs Kingdom.

The morning starts early for Holthus as he and Tami leave the house at 7:45 AM. He pops in the stirring soundtrack from Gettysburg for his drive to the stadium.

“I think about my life flashing in front of my eyes,” said Holthus. “I never take anything for granted. I also never take game day for granted. I never get used to it.”

Upon arrival, Holthus works on the opening of that day’s broadcast. That means a one-on-one chat with Chiefs Hall of Fame Quarterback Len Dawson. The two work like a well-oiled machine, as one would expect after 14 years. Both have their own styles, but Holthus knows Dawson is the voice everyone wants to hear.

“I've been doing this for over 30 years,” said Dawson, “and he's the most prepared broadcaster I've ever been around.”

10:30 AM rolls around and Holthus strolls down to the field. As we walked on the sidelines, we both noticed Bengals running back Rudi Johnson gingerly trying to loosen up. He had been hurt for several weeks, and Cincinnati’s only true rushing threat was hoping for some meaningful duty against the Chiefs.

Minutes later, Holthus is back live on a local TV pre-game show on Metro Sports. He updates the viewers on injuries and inactive players and offers a quick analysis before heading back to the broadcast booth to prepare with his producer, Danny Israel, and spotter Tom Rosberg.

They go over all the key items and bits of knowledge that might need to be quickly brought to the attention of listeners. There were so many stories to this particular game that Holthus didn’t want to miss anything.

Rosberg’s job is to notice when certain players enter the game. As soon as he informs Holthus, he can then inject any relevant data about that player into the broadcast.

“This is a hoot,” said Rosberg. “He might be the hardest working guy I’ve ever been around. He’s one of my best friends.”

Soon after, we head back down to the field, and Holthus is greeted by admirers, almost as if he were a rock star. Former players, visitors, fans and guests of the Chiefs all stop by to shake his hand and say hello.

The real purpose of the pre-game watch, however, is to see the Chiefs practice. On this particular day, Holthus wanted to see who was focused and who wasn’t, who looked prepared and who didn’t. You can only get that at close range - looking through binoculars from the booth just doesn’t give you the same perspective.

Soon it was time to head back up stairs. It’s show time. Holthus has a ritual where he takes a few personal minutes to get settled before checking on Tami, who’s stationed two doors down with friends in a private box.

These moments are a time for her to reflect on the tremendous pride she takes in her husband. After all, she above anyone else has made sacrifices during the course of Holthus’ career.

“He’s such a man of integrity,” she said. “Often times there are shortcuts that people take because of relationships - he’s not taken any shortcuts along the way.”

“He loved doing the broadcasts at Kansas State. Every step he’s made along the way has been a great stop. It never seemed like it took forever to happen.”

Holthus and I had agreed prior to our week together that I’d be permitted access to the radio booth during the game, and it was incredible. As the game began, he had a sharp, crisp sound that instantly made you feel as if you were seeing the game through his eyes. That’s his job, of course, but some don’t do it quite as well.

KICKOFF

It’s one thing to call a game, but it’s another entirely to keep it going while taking care of all the sponsors who must be mentioned throughout the broadcast. Each is written on a small cue card Israel hands to Holthus, who simply mixes them in and out of the action without skipping a beat.

There are no pauses or empty silence from the second the game begins until it ends. Everything is scripted, ad-libbed and delivered in a manner you only get with a professional.

As the game evolved, it was clear early on that it would be a good day for the Chiefs. The defense was dominant in the first half, but as KC’s offense neared the end zone, one of the moments Holthus had prepared for all week was about to transpire.

With the Chiefs trailing 7-3 in the first quarter, the offense lined up for a third-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez was on the verge of setting an NFL record for touchdowns scored by a tight end, so Holthus had to be ready to broadcast something that would be recorded and replayed for many years to come. All week I kept asking him if he had the line ready, and he did, but wouldn’t divulge it. It was for Chiefs Kingdom.

As quarterback Damon Huard lofted a pass toward the corner of the end zone, Holthus moved to the edge of the booth to get as close to the action as possible. He stood on his toes as the ball sailed through the air, and then history was made.

Gonzalez caught the ball, the referee raised his hands to signal a touchdown, the crowd went berserk, and Holthus rendered his famous “Touchdown, Kansas City” call before making sure this historic event had a fitting exclamation point.

“It’s not only a catch for Kansas City, it’s a catch for Canton!”

It was a moment to live for, but one Holthus had to be prepared for, because milestones of this magnitude don’t come along but once or twice in a broadcasting career.

As great as that play was for the Chiefs, the game wasn’t over. The broadcast went on and eventually Kansas City defeated the Bengals, 27-20.

Throughout my time in the booth, it was clear Holthus was in his element. It was the most calm and relaxed I had seen him all week. For three plus hours on gameday, the radio booth is the one place that no matter how busy his plate may be, Holthus is a man at peace.

COOLDOWN

When the game ends, Holthus holds his customary interview with Herm Edwards. He conducts these one-on-one chats minutes after the head coach talks to the rest of the media, so Holthus must listen to the first press conference in order to come up with fresh questions of his own that hold the audience on the radio.

That’s not a problem of course, because he’s prepared, and gets Edwards to open up more than usual due to their relationship. Once that’s done, Holthus receives more cue cards and attentively listens to the locker room interviews held by Bob Gretz and Dawson.

The day is almost over. As Holthus winds down the broadcast, he thanks everyone involved for the success of the production before firing off one more salvo for the listeners - “It’s Raiders Week.” Then it’s time to see Tami again.

Holthus cherishes these moments with his wife, because they’re empty nesters. Being together without the children is one thing, but being the Voice of the Chiefs is another distraction altogether.

“We especially enjoy Sunday nights,” said Tami. “It’s the culmination of a very long week and it’s a small window of opportunity that we can spend a few hours together.”

And that’s the part of this entire story that is overlooked. Holthus is a man with many talents ranging from broadcaster, to motivational speaker, to husband, to father and confidant.

But none of what Holthus has achieved in his professional life would be possible if not for the relationship and faith he has within his family and with his wife.

If he has learned anything through the trials of his life, it’s that you can never stop moving forward or take anything for granted. Every day a new hurdle might present itself.

Life is challenging. But with hard work even a farm boy from Kansas can become the Voice of the Kingdom.

Loooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg

That's why we split it up into 3 parts.