I tried to find the clip online, but I couldn't track it down. It's a truly great college broadcasting clip.
During volleyball season, I'm thinking during junior year, I earned the nickname "Rich."
Rich Raad.
My name is Keith Richard Raad. My middle name is an ode to my paternal grandfather, but nobody ever called me Rich. Zero people. It has nothing to do with Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones. Side note: Outside of "Wild Horses" and "Waiting on a Friend," the Rolling Stones can go scratch.
Nevertheless, I earned the nickname Rich thanks to a fellow broadcasting student, Kenzie Fell.
Kenzie is a great, on-air personality. She's got a great smile and a good bubbly personality. We shared a few classes together and worked a lot of FlyerTV games for our professor emeritus, Roy Flynn. He's a whole 'nother story. Roy Flynn. NG.
This particular day, during one of our volleyball matches, Kenzie worked the sidelines. She was getting ready to interview the coach postgame.
I, Keith Raad, KEITH Raad, tossed it "to Kenzie Fell, who is with coach." I made it a nice easy toss.
Kenzie, just like the rest of us starting out, fell into some nerves. She toughed through her questions, microphone moving, and on-air presence. When she finished interviewing coach, she turned toward the camera and said...
"Back to you...Rich."
I"m listening to this going...did she forget my name? There's NO way. We'd known each other too well.
It turns out she just had a brain fart. One that would be everlasting.
I mentioned Roy Flynn. He called me Rich from that day forward for the rest of my time on campus. He loved nicknames. In my Kevin Harlan story, I talked about Jon Kostoff -- my broadcast partner at the time -- and referred to him as "Flash." That's because in his early years working with FlyerTV with Roy Flynn, Jon wanted a copy of an on-air package he did and went into Roy's office with a flash drive. Hence the name: Flash.
After the match, Kenzie walked over to me and said, "I have no idea why I called you Rich!!"
Me either. But it's hilarious. And Rich Raad is a great name for me if Keith Raad's career gets tossed by the wayside.
To this day, when Jon and I text back and forth, he will always refer to me as Rich.
Thanks, Kenzie.
--Keith