2020 sucks. BobRob passed away.
- Thread starter Flatlandcoug
- Start date
Always be a good sport. And be a good sport all ways.
“A 6-3 250lbs SOFF-A-MOORE from Spokane’s Lewis & Clark High School”
He's gone!! The forever voice of the Cougars. We will never have a better ambassador. Cougar Hall of Famer.
Sad news, but what a life he lived. Such a great Coug. Probably the best ever. Can’t think of anyone I’d rank ahead of him.
There needs to be a statue outside Martin. Whether it's by donations, or whatever, we need a bronze statue.
If the resources were there, is it overkill to put a second statue outside Beasley?
If the resources were there, is it overkill to put a second statue outside Beasley?
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Grew up with Bob when radio was the only coverage of road games, football and basketball, man he was good, painting pictures in your mind, non-stop. Back then I don't think there was a better play-by-play man in the business. Geez many an opposing fan went out of their way to say as much.
Bob was one of the best play by play guys I heard growing up, including a lot of national TV folks. That old interview he did with Keith Jackson was tremendous. I only ever met him once, but he was a lovely, gracious man
Growing up I didn't realize how good he was until I started following other teams. He was so good at always stating the down and the distance, and telling you immediately where the ball was spotted. And then he would repeat the whole play. The Broncos play-by-play just yell "catch" and start talking about some nuance in the coverage, and the listener doesn't know if it was a 2 yard completion or a 20 yard completion. You think they have a first down and instead they are punting.
I also loved how he admitted that early in his career he was obsessed with being totally objective, but at some point (after a couple of decades or so) he decided "screw it" and let himself be a homer, although always in moderation....
I also loved how he admitted that early in his career he was obsessed with being totally objective, but at some point (after a couple of decades or so) he decided "screw it" and let himself be a homer, although always in moderation....
I don’t know if he was the best I ever heard, but was the absolutely perfect fit for WSU, and Vice-versa.
Same here bud. No better memorie than listening to Bob announcing a game on my transistor radio while chopping the family wood. Loved the fireplace next to a WSU football game with Jack throwing the ball around. Love and miss the man, but wish to live to 91.
Have to ask for curiosity sake, how old are you? When did you first start to listen to him? 70s and 80s?
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For many years I was unable to attend WSU games because of work. During those years Bob's voice was my connection to the school. I am sure that I am not the only one with this experience. RIP BobRob. You will be missed by many.
I usually fly my Coug flag during football season but it’s been in the closet this year for obvious reasons. It’s flying today.
I have great memories of listening to Coug games on fall afternoons working on projects with my Dad, doing yard work, road trips etc.
RIP Bob Rob.
Oddly enough, my most outstanding memory of Bob Robertson was his broadcast of the '75 loss to the Huskies. An absolutely unfathomable choke, with one of the weirdest close-outs in the history of Cougar football (and that is no small feat!). He was just as disappointed as any other Coug, yet if there was ever a sports broadcasting definition of professionalism, his performance at the end of that game would be the definition. As Gib quoted, "Always be a good sport, and be a good sport in all ways.". They may have broken the mold with Bob.
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It's hard for me to imagine growing up such a die-hard fan, if not for listening to BobRob all those years.
He was, and remains (even with his passing), a treasure for the Coug Nation.
He was, and remains (even with his passing), a treasure for the Coug Nation.
Same here: lots of memories of listening to a transistor radio while working out on our small family farm late 70s - 80s.
In my mind, he's in the Mt. Rushmore of WSU as a whole: university, athletics, etc.
I'm in my mid-50's now, and I started listening and watching BobRob in the late 70's when I was in middle school. They used to show "Cougar Football Highlights" every week back then, and between that and listening to all of the games on the radio, I became hooked. My family had just relocated to the Seattle area from the Northeast, and I didn't want any part of it. My Dad was an aerospace engineer for Boeing, which is what brought us here, and he became a big Husky fan. I didn't care much for my Dad at that time, so naturally, I cheered for WSU.
I was wondering whether you had a chance to listen to Bob in his prime, which you did.
For us old timers who grew up with the Cougs, he really was part of the "fabric of our lives". Same memories of yard work or camping trips with Bob on the battery-operated radio. People have forgotten, but for decades he did WSU basketball as well, and it was just seamless from the Apple Cup onto hoops just a few days later. He had done seasons for Notre Dame and UW and was on TV in Seattle, and it really seemed like he could be another Keith Jackson.
I also do remember him filling in on the Mariners broadcasts in the late 80s/early 90s. He clearly had prepared so much for those broadcasts, with background pieces on players from both teams, especially highlighting their college careers, which you never really hear on a MLB broadcast. Never for a second was Bob just "winging it". He approached every game as a professional and elevated a lot of games, teams and seasons that frankly could have been kind of a joke if not for him giving it a sense of gravitas.
I also do remember him filling in on the Mariners broadcasts in the late 80s/early 90s. He clearly had prepared so much for those broadcasts, with background pieces on players from both teams, especially highlighting their college careers, which you never really hear on a MLB broadcast. Never for a second was Bob just "winging it". He approached every game as a professional and elevated a lot of games, teams and seasons that frankly could have been kind of a joke if not for him giving it a sense of gravitas.
Not saying this is how it happened, but how I remember it happening:
In no particular order:
1. Paraphrased: "Ryan Leaf breaks the huddle steps up to the center. 2 WR to the right, 1 to the left, 1 in the slot. Michael Black the lone back in the backfield. Ryan Audibles. Delayed draw hand off to black. Black up the middle thru a big hole. GONE! LONG RUN! 40! 50! 40! 30! 20! 15! 10! 5! TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!
2. Paraphrased: "Cougs at
at about 33), Tim Rosenbach breaking huddle, steps up to center. Steve Broussard the RB, 3 WR. Hand off to Broussard, who rips thru, outside the right side, breaks 1 tackle, makes 1 miss,GONE! 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10, 5, TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!.
3. Paraphrased: "Cougs in the snow at theabout 30 to 40), Bobo 1 WR, Drew Bledsoe the QB under center. Drew drops back. Bobo going deep. Drew throws a perfect LONG BOMB to Bobo, SLIDING CATCH BY BOBO INTO THE GOAL POST, SNOWBANK!!!! TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!!"(Snowbowl, Apple Cup)
4. Paraphrased: "Coug very deeply backed up, deep, close to their Endzone(about on 3 to 7 to 10 yardline), Reuben Mays, the lone back, Hand off to Reuben, who goes thru a big hole at the line, breaks tackle, misses 1, makes it to the outside, and down the sideline he goes, Gone!!, 20,30,40,50,40,30,20,10,5, TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!! A VERY LONG TD BY REUBEN MAYS!!!!"(Oregon game)
Not saying thats exactly how he made the play by play calls, just how I remember it, and definitely in the Bob Robertson STYLE.
In no particular order:
1. Paraphrased: "Ryan Leaf breaks the huddle steps up to the center. 2 WR to the right, 1 to the left, 1 in the slot. Michael Black the lone back in the backfield. Ryan Audibles. Delayed draw hand off to black. Black up the middle thru a big hole. GONE! LONG RUN! 40! 50! 40! 30! 20! 15! 10! 5! TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!
2. Paraphrased: "Cougs at
at about 33), Tim Rosenbach breaking huddle, steps up to center. Steve Broussard the RB, 3 WR. Hand off to Broussard, who rips thru, outside the right side, breaks 1 tackle, makes 1 miss,GONE! 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10, 5, TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!.3. Paraphrased: "Cougs in the snow at the
about 30 to 40), Bobo 1 WR, Drew Bledsoe the QB under center. Drew drops back. Bobo going deep. Drew throws a perfect LONG BOMB to Bobo, SLIDING CATCH BY BOBO INTO THE GOAL POST, SNOWBANK!!!! TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!!"(Snowbowl, Apple Cup)4. Paraphrased: "Coug very deeply backed up, deep, close to their Endzone(about on 3 to 7 to 10 yardline), Reuben Mays, the lone back, Hand off to Reuben, who goes thru a big hole at the line, breaks tackle, misses 1, makes it to the outside, and down the sideline he goes, Gone!!, 20,30,40,50,40,30,20,10,5, TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!! A VERY LONG TD BY REUBEN MAYS!!!!"(Oregon game)
Not saying thats exactly how he made the play by play calls, just how I remember it, and definitely in the Bob Robertson STYLE.
Not saying this is how it happened, but how I remember it happening:
In no particular order:
1. Paraphrased: "Ryan Leaf breaks the huddle steps up to the center. 2 WR to the right, 1 to the left, 1 in the slot. Michael Black the lone back in the backfield. Ryan Audibles. Delayed draw hand off to black. Black up the middle thru a big hole. GONE! LONG RUN! 40! 50! 40! 30! 20! 15! 10! 5! TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!
2. Paraphrased: "Cougs at(at about 33), Tim Rosenbach breaking huddle, steps up to center. Steve Broussard the RB, 3 WR. Hand off to Broussard, who rips thru, outside the right side, breaks 1 tackle, makes 1 miss,GONE! 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10, 5, TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!.
3. Paraphrased: "Cougs in the snow at the(about 30 to 40), Bobo 1 WR, Drew Bledsoe the QB under center. Drew drops back. Bobo going deep. Drew throws a perfect LONG BOMB to Bobo, SLIDING CATCH BY BOBO INTO THE GOAL POST, SNOWBANK!!!! TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!!"(Snowbowl, Apple Cup)
4. Paraphrased: "Coug very deeply backed up, deep, close to their Endzone(about on 3 to 7 to 10 yardline), Reuben Mays, the lone back, Hand off to Reuben, who goes thru a big hole at the line, breaks tackle, misses 1, makes it to the outside, and down the sideline he goes, Gone!!, 20,30,40,50,40,30,20,10,5, TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!! A VERY LONG TD BY REUBEN MAYS!!!!"(Oregon game)
Not saying thats exactly how he made the play by play calls, just how I remember it, and definitely in the Bob Robertson STYLE.
In no particular order:
1. Paraphrased: "Ryan Leaf breaks the huddle steps up to the center. 2 WR to the right, 1 to the left, 1 in the slot. Michael Black the lone back in the backfield. Ryan Audibles. Delayed draw hand off to black. Black up the middle thru a big hole. GONE! LONG RUN! 40! 50! 40! 30! 20! 15! 10! 5! TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!
2. Paraphrased: "Cougs at(at about 33), Tim Rosenbach breaking huddle, steps up to center. Steve Broussard the RB, 3 WR. Hand off to Broussard, who rips thru, outside the right side, breaks 1 tackle, makes 1 miss,GONE! 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10, 5, TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!.
3. Paraphrased: "Cougs in the snow at the(about 30 to 40), Bobo 1 WR, Drew Bledsoe the QB under center. Drew drops back. Bobo going deep. Drew throws a perfect LONG BOMB to Bobo, SLIDING CATCH BY BOBO INTO THE GOAL POST, SNOWBANK!!!! TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!!"(Snowbowl, Apple Cup)
4. Paraphrased: "Coug very deeply backed up, deep, close to their Endzone(about on 3 to 7 to 10 yardline), Reuben Mays, the lone back, Hand off to Reuben, who goes thru a big hole at the line, breaks tackle, misses 1, makes it to the outside, and down the sideline he goes, Gone!!, 20,30,40,50,40,30,20,10,5, TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON STATE!!!!! A VERY LONG TD BY REUBEN MAYS!!!!"(Oregon game)
Not saying thats exactly how he made the play by play calls, just how I remember it, and definitely in the Bob Robertson STYLE.
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Bob Robertson often attended monthly lunches with a few of the remnants of the former Pierce County Cougar Club. We had an impromptu celebration of his 90th birthday last year. Those lunches unfortunately ended with the advent of the current pandemic.
Bob had a remarkable recollection of coaches, players, and events over his long and illustrious career. I wish I could better remember more of the stories he graciously shared. He often cited Edgar Martinez as an inspirational example of someone who was given a second chance, and who overcame a disappointing debut year in the minors (Bellingham 1983) to achieve eventual greatness in the majors.
Bob dearly missed his beloved wife and life partner Joanne and was devoted to his family. He would typically take something extra home from the restaurant as a snack for his grandchildren who came to his house after school!
Bob was the best, and an irreplaceable asset to WSU. Hopefully, he will be appropriately memorialized on campus.
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Let's give 6 months. If theres' no mention of a statue, we need to, or somebody needs to talk to Pat Chun and the Alumni Association. We can't drop this. There needs to be a statue, like a bronze statue outside Martin Stadium. If there's no budget, then simply donors need to donate. We need to make this happen.
I hope we get more than just the PR press release about BobRob. Guy is (like I said earlier) on the Mt. Rushmore of WSU, ever (Elson S. Floyd being the other only lock). So there will be hell to pay if it's only general PR comments.
Guys, we need a committee, we need WSU consent, we need resources and donations to painstakingly develop and build a sensational, superior bronze statue.
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Nah, we just need a competent university president and AD to step up and get things rolling.
No disagreement from me but we need to bear in mind that Schulz and Chun are new here. What little interaction they had with Bob was on the declining tail-end of his career. They were not here during the many years when there were no or few televised Cougar games available. Many of us were unable to attend the games in Martin and Bob's voice on the radio was our only contact with WSU. Robertson's remarkable professional competence and the fondness Cougar Nation has for him may be unknown to them. They need to be informed about that. I'm going to send emails to them regarding this and request others on this board to do the same. Considering the financial impact that Covid19 has made upon WSU and the IPF being in Limbo for the time being, any possibility of a statue in the near future is problematic but we can at least get this project placed on the "to do" list. Then we need to remind them about it when financial times are better.
12 days these posts stopped and I can't get them out of my short-term memory. Too many good memories and too many good feelings.
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Favorite memory is Ricky Bell rolling a bunch of numbers on WSU and the only olineman being called out by him as blocking well was one that I knew.
Ah the Ricky Bell game. Still remember the broadcast.
Ricky Bell had some fumbles in that game and came up with some "Connor Haliday" type empty personal stats - a not very good WSU team only lost by 9 points and was within one score of 4th ranked USC about the entire game.
WSU's only game in the Kingdome which was band new.
Jack Thompson hadn't even been named that starter yet, IIRC.
44 years ago (1976) and WSU's coach that year Jackie Sherrill is still alive & younger than Joe Biden.
His successor Warren Powers the WSU coach in 1977 currently suffers from senility and is younger than Speaker Nancy Pelosi
My first Coug game. I was in sixth grade. We had a brief practice with the Cougs Friday night in the King Dome. Jack Thompson threw me a pass and that was the day I became a Coug.
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