Sifting through a life in sports

Today we lay to rest Steve Kodad. He has been the sports editor for the Gazette since 2009, and he has taken our sports pages to a new level of excellence in his seven-year tenure with us. I feel lucky to have had him on staff and will miss reading his stories and admiring his photography skills in our pages every day.

I took on the task of cleaning out his office this week following his death Monday night. Those who know Steve know that he rarely threw anything away. To his credit, his intent was to take every scrap of paper, piece of cardboard, and plastic water bottle to the recycling center. In reality, those things never made it out of his office until this week.

As I was sifting through the piles, several co-workers stopped by his office and offered their assistance. Most were on deadline, so I declined the help and said I'd rather go through it by myself. I'm so glad I did.

Through the mounds of paper that included game stats, rosters, programs, empty tissue boxes, and losing lottery tickets, I got a deeper understanding of the man who has been such an important part of sports scene for McCook and the area.

Much to my chagrin, Steve had consumed several hundred dollars worth of colored ink by printing out full-color team photos and action shots on 11x17 inch copy paper. He had an amazing talent for knowing exactly where the action would be. Through his lens, Steve was able to capture the competitive determination in the expressions of so many area high school and college athletes.

As I sifted through enlarged photos of athletes competing in every variety of sport, it became clearly evident that Steve was not just doing his job as sports editor for the newspaper. He was there because he cared about the athletes. He wanted to record their triumphs, and sometimes their defeats, as a tribute to their hours of preparation for that particular moment.

Although he was not a McCook High School graduate, Steve was a part of the Bison sports family. The team included him in their TEAM attire, and he proudly wore his official Bison sports shirts to work almost every day. His wardrobe also included caps and shirts from McCook Community College and of course, Nebraska. Before coming to McCook, Steve was the sports editor for the Evanston, Wyo. newspaper, and every once in awhile, he'd show up in something with a Western Wyoming Community College Mustang logo.

I also came across several thank-you notes, written by appreciative parents, grandparents, and occasionally a student, who valued the sports coverage he provided. There were many invitations to high school graduation parties, making it evident that Steve's participation in these young peoples' lives went beyond his presence on the sidelines.

In an eloquent tribute to Steve's dear friend and cousin, Bill Saalfeld who passed away in 2013, Steve wrote, "I enjoy what I perceive as one of the greatest jobs on the face of God's green earth. I have a front-row seat to experience one of the passions in my life -- sports -- and I get the opportunity to try and bring those sporting events to life in black and white for Gazette readers. My sports reporting positions in Columbus, Neb. and Evanston, Wyo., and here in McCook have, over the years, afforded me the opportunity to get to know so many wonderful people and to build friendships that have, and will, endure throughout my lifetime. I've had such fantastic opportunities to cover exciting sports events and to write about a list of extraordinary people way too long to mention."

My hunch is that even if one of those lottery tickets had come to be a winner, you would have still seen Steve on the sidelines of those games, doing what he loved.

A sports writer's job is to provide analysis of the game. There is usually so much more to any sporting event than the score at the end of the game indicates. The same is true of Steve. He was so much more than a sports editor.

The final whistle has blown on Steve's life. In my estimation, he has come out victorious, as evidenced by the relationships he built and the lives that he has impacted.

In cooperation with several coaches, the Gazette will be hosting a Steve Kodad Memorial Tailgate Party at Weiland Field during one of the McCook Football League games in July. More details will follow.