Kee On Sports Magazine Volume 1: “The Genesis”

A Look at Inside My Pregame Rituals

By Jeff Sabo

When it comes to covering a high school football game, it is more than just my laptop and notes to get me through the night. Yes, I make sure to have my rosters with me ahead of time and always pack the laptop and the charger as well but there is more to it than just those two items. For me, I always have multiple items that have personal meaning to me when I step into a high school stadium.

For those that follow me on Twitter (@jeffrsabo) and Facebook, you will notice I often have a superhero t-shirt on underneath the shirt and tie I wear and various stuffed animals.

The superhero t-shirts aren’t always seen by those who are in the stadium with me and I will admit to have gotten weird looks over the stuffed animals. It doesn’t matter what others think or see; it is knowing the stories behind both.

Anyone who knows me understands I am a sports nut but I will let you in on a little secret; I am also a nerd. That is a blunt statement and not meant to be a knock on myself but I have always had a soft spot for science fiction and comic book characters.

Walk inside my condominium and you will see tons of Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse graphic novels lining my shelves. Reading comic books and graphic novels are my escape and have been a passion of mine since seeing one of my favorite superhero films many years ago.

On the popular podcast “This Week in Marvel”, the hosts often ask the guests what their first Marvel experience was. Some admit to never reading a comic book prior to taking on a particular role and others state the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was what got them started.

For me, I was into comic books as a young child when I first began to read. I read Batman, Superman, X-Men, and Spiderman and still have many of those comics I collected when I was six-years old today. There was a time period where I stopped reading them but it was in my monumental superhero film that got me hooked again.

In 2002, after years of anticipation and court battles (this wasn’t an easy film to get off the ground), Spider-Man, starting Tobey McGuire was released. I went due to the fact the trailers looked incredible and recall wanting to see it. There was something about the ads for it that made me want to sit inside the theater and watch it.

As I sat there and watched it the first time around, the way the story unfolded, seeing how McGuire played one of the most historic comic book characters of all time in an incredible way, and the action quickly made the film one of my all time favorites.

I took my sister to see it a day later (yes, twice in the same weekend) and she was in awe of the film. That weekend, I recall getting my hands on any Spider-Man comic I had and wanting to read more and more. At that time, Marvel released The Ultimate Spider-Man series (written by Cleveland native Brian Michael Bendis) and I was hooked again.

As superhero movies started to make more money for the studios, I found myself anxiously anticipating releases within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the X-Men film series (some of my favorite films are in this series), and The Dark Knight trilogy with Christian Bale as Batman and Christopher Nolan directing (nothing against Michael Keaton but Bale is my favorite Batman. In terms of playing the character, I think both were dead on in the role and Heath Ledger is my favorite actor to play the Joker).

My collection of comic books and graphic novels has grown over this time and with that, my superhero t-shirt collection. I usually find a superhero shirt to wear underneath as I get ready to cover a game because I love comic books so much.

In addition to the superhero shirts, you will notice owls and a stuffed animal that resembles Toto from The Wizard of Oz usually show up on my Twitter and Facebook feeds. Weird looks always come my way when I bring them into the pressbox but the story behind it is far from strange.

On my dad’s side of the family, Grandma Sabo loved owls. My earliest memories of her house consist of owl pictures and stuffed animals in various places. It is a memory that will stick with me for as long I will be able to remember.

Grandma Sabo loved owls and obviously had a deep love for my grandfather. The two of them we were married for 60 years but it was the last twenty of their marriage that shaped why I have an owl with me whenever I cover a game.

When I was six years old, Grandpa Sabo woke up and walked into the kitchen complaining of tightness in his jaw, which is a sign of a heart attack. My grandmother, being who she was, didn’t take any chances and immediately called 911.

As it turns out, it wasn’t a heart attack; it was an aneurysm. It was caught in time and fixed, however, those steps into the kitchen that morning were some of the last he took as he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Over time, his health deteriorated and it wasn’t easy for him to go out. As Progressive Field and First Energy Stadium opened its doors, it was apparent taking him there wasn’t going to happen due to his health and my grandmother was cautious about where they went. Being the sports fan he was, it had to hurt him not to see the inside of either facility and root for the teams he grew up watching in person.

This was a man who told me stories of seeing Bob Feller pitch for the Indians and tearing down the goalposts after a Browns championship (he married my grandma in 1949 so I always assumed it was the 1948 title game).

He was a fighter indeed (the exact words from Solon swimming public address announcer Jim May, who my grandfather knew since high school. May would later be able to pick me out by the resemblance I had to my dad before a basketball game).

When not much brought him comfort with his health, hearing me announce a high school football game in my teens always did. My dad would record the Solon Comets games I called on VHS and take them over to my grandparents to watch. They quickly became amongst my biggest supporters for my work behind the mic and it would continue on through my college years.

It wasn’t long after I graduated college that both of them passed and as I started to find my way back to being a member of the media, I decided bringing Grandma Sabo’s owl was the best tribute to them. The main owl I bring was hers and I named him Comet.

Over time, I realized I couldn’t leave out my mom’s side of the family so I eventually purchased a dog that resembled Toto from The Wizard of Oz. Grandma and Grandpa Kovach loved the film and shaped my love of sports as well.

Grandpa Kovach got me interested in college football and the Indians with his vast knowledge and memories on both. His cousin, Art Hunter, played at Notre Dame, and he would root for the Irish and the Buckeyes (like him, I am a rarity and root for both) and could tell me numerous stories of Indians players and games from the past. I could talk sports with him and Grandma Kovach and it helped shape my love for sports as a result.

I bring Comet and Toto with me a lot so I can say both sets of grandparents are with me as I cover the games and do something I love. Some view it as a strange ritual, I view it as a way my grandparents can see me do what I love.