"David Stein Show" Is Worth Listening To

David Stein of “The David Stein Show” is a unique sports broadcaster whose positive outlook on life, even amid sadness and tragedy, is contagious and inspiring.

He is able to weave stories together as no other sports broadcaster can.

On Sirius.com, which is the only network that carries his show, has a perfect summation off his show:

“David starts each call by asking the listener to ‘tell me something good about your life.’ Every show is created to bring out the best in people with David asking listeners to ‘pay it forward and to get off the bench and onto the court ... on the show and in life.’

Through tears and laughter, David is spreading random acts of kindness and promoting good health and well being to listeners on a national and international level.”
That he is.

The other night he captured a sentiment I am struggling with about sports.

While sports is trivial when I consider my real mission on earth, which is to prepare myself for the journey that continues after we leave this mortal realm, it has been a huge part of my life since my Dad first introduced me to its competitive nature.

For years, I suffered the humiliation of defeat as the 49ers, Giants, and Warriors were defeated by my brother’s favorite teams: the Rams, Dodgers, and Lakers.

And, when they played Pittsburgh teams, by my Dad’s favorite teams (with the exception that Pittsburgh doesn’t have an NBA team).

Then the Warriors won it all and I was happy, until they went bust again.

The Giants made it to two World Series and lost, one an embarrassing earthquake-jarring series, and the other a heart-breaking loss.

The 49ers, however, started winning games, and football is my favorite sport, even though I couldn't play past pee wee due to severe asthma and allergies caused by grass.

They beat the Rams, the Cowboys, but it was the Pittsburgh Steelers led by Terry Bradshaw with an arm injury that kept my 49ers from a perfect season.

Yet they won the Super Bowl that year, so revenge was sweet.

They are one of only two teams to have won four out of four Super Bowls, with the other being the Steelers.

In fact, the 49ers are the only team to have won all five Super Bowls that they have appeared in.

My mom died before she got to see my dad’s Steelers win their fifth Super Bowl, and this year, it looks like the Steelers could win their sixth.

With my dad’s recent death, it would be a bittersweet ending to what could be my last season of watching the NFL.

(I missed my first Monday Night Football game ever for a night on which I had nothing else to do, such as work.)

Although I hate the Steelers and want no one, especially the Cowboys, to have more Super Bowl trophies than the 49ers, for my Dad, I’d be happy if Pittsburgh did, especially if they beat the whimsical Cowboys.

But how does all this relate to David Stein?

On his show the other night, he said what made watching sports worthwhile for him, what gave him the most fulfillment, was not whether his teams won or lost; rather, it was talking to his brother and father about the games.

I can relate. Through the years, I've had so much enjoyment talking to and teasing my brother and dad, even though most of the time, my teams lost, until the 'Niners became the most-successful NFL dynasty ever during the Eddie DeBartolo Jr. era.

In fact, when my first daughter was critically ill in the hospital for a long time in intensive care during San Francisco's first Super Bowl run, it was my father and brother and I who watched Dwight Clark end Tom Landry's Dallas dynasty.

When my brother died in 1992, a lot of the fizzle went out of the Rams-San Francisco rivalry for me, especially after they stupidly moved to St. Louis.

Now with my Dad gone, there is no one to talk sports with, except my cats, and now my dad’s dog, which I have.

Stein was correct in what he said, but I differ with him in one respect.

I always wanted my teams to beat my dad and brother’s teams.

In fact, the worse the butt-kicking and humiliation of my brother and dad's teams, the better. Nirvana for me is when my teams were victorious in a dominating fashion that would humiliate my brother and dad.

Yeah, call me competitive.

If you haven’t heard “The David Stein Show,” I suggest you do. His shows are filled with inspiring treasures that reach beyond sports and apply to all aspects of our lives.

He truly has a gift and I'm glad he shares it.