Where's Jan Hutchins? Well, I'm glad you asked. I've been wondering the same out loud.
Happy to say the ex-KPIX-TV Sports and News anchor, (and radio analyst on Cal football) is alive and kicking and I spoke to him recently and he's having a ball.
So, Jan, what's happening--it's been too long. I'm living in paradise! I'm healthy as a horse, happy to a fault, and best of all recently married to the brilliant, talented, young woman I've been waiting for all my life. As you know, I've loved sports and been a health nut my whole life. After 47 years of studying physical performance I've founded PleasureStretch, an Anti-Aging Exercise System for people looking for freedom from chronic pain, renewed vitality and sexual energy, ease of movement and a youthful appearance.
That's a lot on your plate, sir, but I gotta ask you about the biz. The state of TV news has changed quite a bit since you were last on--your view of the industry? It's sad for me that opinion polls on credibility list broadcasting only ahead of Organized Labor, Big Business, HMO's and Congress. With the end of the ascertainment requirement in 1984, television ceased to be a public service and became just another business focused only on profit. Alas, our political discourse and culture have suffered as a consequence of people having to keep their jobs by selling tits, tots & pets and "if it bleeds it leads" to the lowest common denominator. I keep dreaming of a call from a wealthy, enlightened owner or insightful news director asking me to help save us from ourselves... and then I wake up.
"The body is the temple of the spirit"--your slogan, you know, people still ask me about that. Did you coin that phrase and why do you think it resonated? The origin is in Eastern Philosophy and touches a core understanding about sports. It's a spiritual feeling to look into the eyes of someone you trust, lose a loved one, come back from the dark night of the soul, succeed when no one thought you could. These are all ways to describe the emotional patterns that make sports appealing, trusting teammates, having a teammate get hurt, being the underdog or coming from behind. Sports are all about spirit. That's why we have pep rallies, bonfires, cheerleaders, team Spirit. Using our bodies to express our spirits is why sports are worth watching.
What do you think of Gary Radnich? I respect and enjoy him. The very fact you ask the question says it all. He's interesting enough to be worth having an opinion about. I also appreciate the way he's always spoken of and treated me as a pioneer in the business and respected colleague.
You were in the booth with Joe Starkey during the greatest game, (1982 Big Game) in the history of college football. You got a little excited. A little? I went wild! It felt like an orgasm. I was at the press table when the Warriors upset the Bullets and screamed then too. I was also right on the sideline and in childlike wonder as Franco Harris carried the "Immaculate Reception" past me into the end zone. I recovered from the excitement and felt fear of possible rioting as I waited nervously by the team tunnel while the referees decided the play. "The Play" carried no threat of violence, Stanford is not Pittsburgh after all. My response was totally natural and completely unprofessional. I lost it and hope I never stop being able to feel so deeply I can become unselfconscious. By the way, the great Joe Starkey was magnificent and totally professional in that amazing moment.
You know Jan, you had a long run here--any regrets? Despite my fear of aging--I'm 63 now, I've never felt better. I'm profoundly in love, strong and healthy, looking positively toward the future and feeling vindicated for having chosen again and again to do what I said after saying "The Body is the Temple of the Spirit" I've taken good care of my body. I do regret having missed watching you grow into a stylish professional. I miss being engaged in the conversation with our rich Bay Area sporting community. I regret my voice and example for living a healthy lifestyle is not as easily heard.
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