Inside the Beijing Olympics. Jeff PhD Ruffolo

coming onto the scene was a new Women’s indoor league run by a self-styled millionaire named Gary Wyma called the NVA, the National Volleyball Association. It was a rag-tag, seat of the pants operation that Wyma personally funded, including paying me to put together a nascent radio package. So, Mitch and I saddled up for these broadcasts as well. The NVA league came and went bankrupt in two years but it put some money in Mitch and my pockets and more radio broadcasts to put on the resume.

      But, then I had to ask, what‘s next? I always look forward to see what will be the next challenge on the horizon. Was I fated to broadcast Volleyball for the rest of my career? Was I going to be the “voice” of Volleyball forever? This is the question that I poised to my Dad one day when I called him at his home in Orem, Utah. He listened patiently but was ambiguous about the next challenge. He felt that as long as I was working, something good would come my way. It was then … in early 1995 that I started to ask myself … what about the Olympic Games? Why couldn't I broadcast the Olympic Games?

      I must be nuts!

      There is no way that I could broadcast the Olympics … at least that is what I told myself. You see, we humans are our own worst enemy. We will say to ourselves all the reasons why we can’t do this thing or that. But when you think about it, the only one saying it to me … was me. There was no one else telling me that I could not broadcast the Olympic Games, which was to be held in Atlanta the following summer.

      And certainly no one in America had broadcast as many Volleyball matches on radio as I had.

      ***

      So, I started formulating and executing a business plan to promote myself to the Westwood One Radio Network in Washington D.C. with the goal of being hired by the network as their “voice” of Olympic Volleyball.

      First, I had to find out where to start.

      I really had no idea.

      I called a friend, Joel Blumberg, a sports engineer who was based in Newark, New Jersey. Joel had produced dozens of live sports broadcasts for Westwood and knew all of the sports guys at Westwood and said that he would introduce me to Larry Michael, Westwood Vice President of Sports as well as Executive Director Chris Castleberry. Joel was true to his word and two days later, I was on the phone introducing myself to Chris. In the world of sports radio in America, Chris Castleberry was better than very best, having worked as the executive producer for the Larry King radio show on the nationwide Mutual Radio Network, years before Larry King Live debuted on CNN. Chris produced every NCAA National Basketball Championships; major golf, tennis and football bowl games, as well as Notre Dame Football that Westwood One carried for a decade. We talked for a few minutes and Chris was gracious in accepting a tape cassette to review. He said that at the previous 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics, Westwood One had hired Barry Landers, an ice hockey commentator to handle their Volleyball commentary and the network execs were none too pleased with the results.

      Now I had my in. I Fed Exed a demo tape to Chris and then started a PR campaign to “drip” on Westwood One. All of the publicity that I was generating for the WIVA league broadcasts, as well as the Hawaii broadcasts, sent right to Christ Castleberry at his Westwood offices.

      I was relentless.

      I also flew out to Washington, at my expense, just to meet Chris and talk with him about working for him at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I was not going to go away quietly in the night and after several months of making him crazy, Chris called me and offered me a contract.

      I accepted immediately.