Jason Botchford has passed away

[mouz135]

There are no words. This came out of nowhere.

RIP Botch

 

[Canucks LB]

I am still in complete shock
Its really hard to believe he is gone, nobody in this market garnered a reaction in this market like jason did.

He always was a must listen, patcast was fantastic, such a passionate canucks fan.

Rip botch, condolences to his family, friends.

 

[polarbearcub]

Absolutely awful. My condolences go out Jason’s wife and children and entire Family.

 

[Kirk Mclean]

So sad to hear this. He was absolutely my favourite guy to read/listen to and one of the only guys in the market who wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions and stick up for the fans. He will be irreplaceable in our local media. RIP.

 

[VanillaCoke]

So harsh to hear, so young and such a tragic loss.
RIP

 

[Pure West]

I really enjoyed his work. The Patcast was the best Canucks podcast out there, and he was always unafraid to call the management team out for their mistakes. You could feel that he had the passion of a die-hard fan, or could at least tap into that from the fans, while not having blinders on. Let alone passing away so young. Sad, sad day for his family.

 

[Snatcher Demko]

Wow. Truly a shock and in my opinion the best sports writer in town.

Worst thing is that he leaves behind a wife and 3 kids, who can't be very old. Very sad.

 

[Jay Cee]

I am really speechless for once.

My worst nightmare is leaving my young family behind. Very tragic.

 

[opendoor]

Brutal. I've never paid all that much attention to Canucks media, but he seemed like one of the few who was willing to really do his job as a journalist and hold the team's feet to the fire.

It's got to be absolutely gutting for his family to suddenly lose a seemingly healthy 48 year old husband, father, and brother. Condolences to them.

 

[tantalum]

Man that sucks. My condolences to his friends and family.

I didn't always agree with him but he was a good listen. Always enjoyed the provies/athleties as well. This is a significant loss for sports media in Vancouver and canada. And of course a much bigger loss to his family. RIP Botch. Thanks for the memories.

 

[WTG]

Wow... Completely unexpected...

 

[Hit the post]

"apparent heart failure"

I'm guessing a stroke. See your GP at least annually. Familiarize yourself with "F.A.S.T.". People who die from this aren't always old farts like myself (ok, I ain't THAT old). But seriously, you CAN get a stroke even if you're not a "senior citizen". That famed movie director John Singleton recently passed away at the age of 51 from a stroke.

 

[y2kcanucks]

What the f***??? He was only 48. This shouldn’t happen to people that young.

I can’t imagine how his family is feeling right now. Absolute tragedy.

From our perspective he was one of the best in the business at what he did. He was never afraid to tell it like it is, he shared a lot of insider info. He was the only reason I subscribed to The Athletic and I really enjoyed his writing as well as his segments on the Patcast.

Jason Botchford will truly be missed. RIP

 

[Plot Monkey]

Wow, far too young. Condolences to the Botchford family.

RIP Botch.

 

[canuckfan75]

This is just shocking. He was the only reason as to why I subscribe the the Athletic. Rest in Peace. The best in Canuck Coverage in the in city..... so sad I can not even come to words.....

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Jesus...gone far too young. RIP, and condolences to his family.

Someone I really came to appreciate in his time covering the Canucks - definitely carved out a unique niche for himself that will now leave a massive void. But all of that is secondary to the young family he leaves behind...Christ, that's just too young.

 

[Canucks LB]

What the ****??? He was only 48. This shouldn’t happen to people that young.

I can’t imagine how his family is feeling right now. Absolute tragedy.

From our perspective he was one of the best in the business at what he did. He was never afraid to tell it like it is, he shared a lot of insider info. He was the only reason I subscribed to The Athletic and I really enjoyed his writing as well as his segments on the Patcast.

Jason Botchford will truly be missed. RIP

That’s actually a very good point, he was also the only reason I subscribe to The Athletic, just goes to show how much I valued him as a media Personality and writer.

Truly honestly the best in the business

 

[groov2]

Wow. I’m gutted by this. I know he was polarizing and a lot of people didn’t like him (including me), but I grew to really enjoy his ability to ask the tough questions. I also really enjoyed his blog. This is awful.

 

[valkynax]

Seriously? What the f***ing hell???

HF at 48, Jesus Christ man...

Shocking news.

 

[ScottishCanuck]

Didn't always agree with his opinions, but at the end of the day that's all they were.

Really sad news.

 

[vancityluongo]

****

Life's too short. Absolutely horrible.

I will be forever grateful for what Botch did for hockey journalism. He made a product with the Provies/Athletties that was worth following. Rest in peace Botch.

 

[Tim Calhoun]

RIP. Great journalist.

 

[pomx]

Incredibly sad, condolences to his family. RIP.

 

[TruGr1t]

A nice show of class:

 

[Jyrki21]

I don’t think I have ever been more shocked to see a thread title on this site – with no disrespect to the members we’ve lost in past years.

I can’t even comprehend this. Botchford was so instrumental in reshaping sports media coverage in BC. He leveraged new media and found the perfect sweet spot between reporting, editorializing and actually conveying real analysis/insight on a sports level. (Pretty much everything he suggested tactic-wise made sense).

Obviously I had a bit of a rapport with him and owe him hugely for gaining exposure for Benning on Empty, and so even though I never actually met him (though I did invite him to join us in Raleigh and he would have if we were quicker – he talked a bit about this on the Patcast) this feels remarkably different from the norm... and devastating.

Even without delving into the tragedy for his young family with three children, this will leave a huge hole in the Vancouver sports market. What’s more, it’s easy to forget he is an Ontario transplant because he was so much one of us. He got it. He knew what it was like to be buried in the shadow of eastern media coverage, he knew exactly what was going on in 2011, exactly where sports and real life mixed with that kind of thing... hell he’s the one who brought the Vote for Rory movement to the fore.

Only so many ways to say “I can’t believe it.”

One final thought – though I sometimes succumb to temptation with sports drinks, they are famously awful for you. He talked about consuming large volumes of Beaver Buzz on the Patcast, including sometimes two in a row. I can’t help but feel this is at play here.

RIP