KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Though Scott Bryant’s tenure as WWMT sports director wasn’t lengthy, from 1987 to 1991, he remembers it being packed with thrilling occasions, overlaying an lively interval in Michigan sports historical past.
“In 1987, we followed the Tigers to the playoffs. In 1988, we went to Michigan State and they went to the Rose Bowl,” Bryant mentioned. “Michigan, of course, was good at football and basketball. The basketball team was great. The Pistons were in the middle of a three-peat and the Red Wings were good. And of course, the Lions were not good.”
Bryant recollects that overlaying the Detroit Tigers at spring coaching in Lakeland, Florida was particularly enjoyable, primarily as a result of WWMT’s founder, John Fetzer, additionally at one time owned the Tigers. Though Fetzer had offered the Tigers just a few years prior, Bryant mentioned he nonetheless acquired particular remedy as a result of not many gamers or coaches understood the change in possession.
“Forever and ever, we had Carte Blanche because they were like, ‘Oh, man, that’s Mr. Fetzer’s station.’ Well, we didn’t tell them that the station had sold, had long sold beforehand. And so we still got on the red carpet,” he mentioned.
After 4 years at WWMT, Bryant determined to go away tv sports and begin a new career. A church pal inspired him to think about turning into an agent for insurance coverage large State Farm.
“I went to church in Michigan with a fellow who was a manager with State Farm, and he kept pushing me to become a State Farm insurance agent. I’m like, I don’t even know what that is. But it turned out beautifully. I’ve been at State Farm in my hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee, now for 34 years,” Bryant mentioned.
Bryant credited legendary sports figures he interviewed whereas overlaying sports at Channel 3 with educating him invaluable gross sales abilities. He says these abilities helped him hit the bottom working when he began his new enterprise.
“I tell people all the time, Sparky Anderson, Lou Holtz, and Bo Schembechler, they taught me more about being a salesperson than anyone else that I dealt with,” he mentioned.
Despite his career change, Bryant cherishes his time at WWMT. He retains a memento from these days in his State Farm workplace: an indication displaying the WWMT anchor workforce from the late Eighties that was on show on the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids.
“This sign came out of the Grand Rapids Airport. It was a welcome home or whatever. And I think the airport was going to throw it away, and I grabbed it out of the trash, basically,” he mentioned.
Though Bryant has been away from West Michigan for 34 years, he maintains many friendships from his time at WWMT.