Sarah: What are your roots in hockey and how long have you been involved in all of this?

Rob: Well, my hockey career started back when I was in about fourth grade, so that would be about ten or so years ago. I played hockey up through my junior year in high school for Valley/Dowling. I ended up not playing hockey my senior year. I went up to Iowa State and played intra-murals and some things like that for fun. I did a little work with the ISU hockey team with PA announcing and some radio. I then ended up coming back down here. It happened to be that Todd Kimm and Glen Norman were doing it. Glen got another job doing full-time radio out East and Suzy LaMarre asked me if I would be available to do radio on the road games. I have been doing it and this is my third season.

Sarah: How did you get involved with the music part?

Rob: Well, I will tell you. I had done some of this many years ago just briefly and it was another thing where I had done a few games before and Suzy liked what she heard and asked me. I believe this is my second season doing that. She just asked me if I would do it full time, and I have been doing that too. It is kind of fun. Last year we expanded by having the post game coach’s show on the radio. For the home games I do that interview then, as well.

Sarah: So what you are doing here with the radio, is that something you have always wanted to do?

Rob: Yes and no. I had been doing radio as an announcer back when I was about a junior in high school at Z93. I worked at Q102, and right now I do some part time work at KLYF or MIX100.3, I guess now, under the air name of Scott Roberts. I have done some of that. The job security in that industry is zero. That was why when I went to college I got a degree in business and I have been working for Brenton Bank for about eight years now. I enjoy doing that, but if there would be a full-time opportunity somewhere in hockey, I would probably have to look long and hard at it. You know, think about doing something crazy and do it. But I do not know, it would be tough to say.

Sarah: You have done so much traveling with the team. Are there any funny stories or maybe a story you can think of in particular, either about traveling with the team, anything?

Rob: Probably the most memorable trip we had was my first year of doing the games when we were going to Dubuque. It was snowing very hard. The night before just practically everything was closed and we ended up going on the trip. We go up to Waterloo; we are fine. Our bus breaks down and we are stranded in Independence, Iowa, of all places. We are stranded there for about three or four hours, it seems like. For a 7:00 game, I think we got there at 8:30. We ended up winning the game but got home like at 4:00 a.m. So it was just one of those that, you know, we were stranded. Myself, coach, Todd and the trainer Marty, I believe, we were sitting in this service station while all the players were over at this new Burger King eating. It was something that was pretty miserable.

Sarah: Yeah, I have had some of those experiences traveling! What is the hardest part of your job and what is the most fun part?

Rob: Well, I would say the hardest part for me is just getting the time. You know, I work 50 hours or so at least at Brenton Bank. A lot of times like if we are leaving on a weekday road game, the bus leaves at, let us say, 3:00. I work at the bank in Ames until 2:15 and sprint down here and do that. So I have to manage my time a lot. It is a lot of time away. Probably the part that I enjoy the most is just getting to go to the games. I mean, there are so many people, too, that you meet that listen to you. I am sure you see the same thing from your web page.

Sarah: Yes.

Rob: I think that is really the enjoyment of it, just meeting the people and talking with them and getting to share something that both of you love and helping those people hear the games or see the games.

Sarah: It is a blast!

Rob: Yeah, it is. It really is.

Sarah: If you could broadcast or do this radio type of thing for any hockey team in the world, who would it be?

Rob: Well, probably the New York Rangers. I have been a Rangers fan ever since I was a little kid growing up. It is some of those guys back in those days. It was always really fun just to see them, and I have been a huge Rangers fan ever since. I think that would be a lot of fun. I think it would be really exciting to have a full-time gig going in NHL. That would be a lot of fun.

Sarah: Yeah, it would. What are the best and worst rinks that you’ve broadcast from in the USHL?

Rob: Well, that is a tough one. Probably one of the best rinks, believe it or not, is Sioux City. You are right over the crowd. It is a smaller arena. It makes it tough because it moves a lot faster, but the atmosphere there is great. You have been there before.

Sarah: Yeah.

Rob: The organ music is playing. You have a good view. It is a lot of fun doing games from there. On the other hand, the worst place. There are two of them that I will mention. Green Bay is miserable. You are a mile away and I don’t like it at all. I have been rained on there because the roof has leaked before. And the other time is when the Buccaneers played Rochester and we played in Onalaska, Wisconsin. They had a platform that was about six inches off the ground, and we were right next to the Buccaneers bench, and the glass came up to our chest. So our heads were above the glass. I about got hit by two pucks and a stick, as someone got checked right in front of us. That was probably one of the worst places and it was just freezing in there, which didn’t help at all.

Sarah: Rob, thank you for the interview, we appreciate all the work you do for the Bucs.

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