Steve Sands has been a staple of the golf broadcasting world for a long time. But before Steve Sands became a mainstay at Golf Channel, he was a college student with a dream of making it big in broadcasting and working with one of his “heroes,” Jim Nantz.
Sands joined the latest episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast and recalled a story of the first time he met Nantz as a college student. It’s a story that only one of them remembers. After sneaking into the 1990 Final Four in Denver with his friends, Sands spotted Nantz preparing to broadcast the premier event in college basketball.
“I leaned over the rope and I go, ‘Mr. Nantz! Mr. Nantz!’ He gave me one of these [head knod] and goes, ‘What’s up kid?’ And i said, ‘I’m going to work with you one day!’ It was the only thing I could think of to say. And he said, ‘That’s great kid, keep me posted.'”
Eleven years later, Sands was just starting out at Golf Channel and was covering the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links. Nantz arrived to cover the tournament for CBS on the weekend, and Sands brought up their first meeting back at the 1990 Final Four. It was a meeting that, understandably, wasn’t burned into Nantz’s memory.
“I walk up to him and I go, ‘Mr. Nantz.’ And he goes, ‘Steve Sands.’ I go, ‘How do you know?’ He goes, ‘You’re on the Golf Channel. I love the Golf Channel. You’re new.’ And I said, ‘You know, we met 11 years ago at the Final Four at McNichols Arena.’ He almost pretended to remember. It was just enough to make me feel good that he kind of remembered. He was like grinding over it. He faked it a little bit. Jim Nantz has always been one of my heroes.”
To hear more from Sands, check out the entire episode below.
