Jason Botchford has passed away

[Trinity]

"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.

What is F.A.S.T? I googled it and nothing came up.

 

[Trinity]

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

He also seemed to have a ton of energy whenever he was on the air. Too much coffee or perhaps something else?

 

[Hit the post]

What is F.A.S.T? I googled it and nothing came up.

FAST (stroke) - Wikipedia

They call strokes the ‘silent killer’ because the symptoms leading to one aren’t obvious (at least to someone that isn’t a GP).

 

[lawrence]

Oh my gosh I am so sad about this. I will admit I was never a fan of his, but this is horrible news. My condolences.

 

[Josepho]

He is one of two people that made me subscribe to the athletic.

Just a terrible situation, feel for the guy and his family.

 

[Fire Benning]

Just awful news. Far too young as well.

Rest in peace Botch, you will be missed.

 

[BROCK HUGHES]

Rip to Botch,,he loved Vancouver and his passion for writing.He will be missed.condolences to his family.

 

[The Drop]

Devastating news. All of my interactions with him were enjoyable.

RIP.

And goodbye to our last voice to the Canucks

 

[ATypicalCanadian]

I like many here will miss his coverage of the Canucks with the Athletic and 1040. He was one of the best in Vancouver and the business. We’ll severely miss the high energy and passion he put into all his articles and segments.

RIP Botch and condolences to his family.

 

[JumpierPegasus]

Wow that's horrible, he was so young. Absolutely devastating for his family and the Vancouver sports media community.

RIP Botch, he was so well respected within the circle of writers and radio personalities. I looked forward to The Provies and The Athletties and respected his takes even if I disagreed with him on some of his stubborn points

What a loss...

 

[thekernel]

Terrible news... 48 is too young....

Whatever you think about his work, there's no denying his drive or passion for the game. He will be a missed voice in Canucks discussion.

God, this is so unexpected...

 

[David Bruce Banner]

RIP Botch...

My nightmare is to go before having seen the Canucks win a Cup.

 

[Dab]

Brutal. 3 kids and a wife. Horrible news. RIP

 

[Ninjadude]

Wow...! Totally unexpected and terrible news. I always looked forward to his articles and radio shows as he was so passionate in his opinions. You will be missed Botch. Condolences to his family and may you RIP.

 

[Cupless44]

Terrible, sad news. Way too young with a wife and 3 kids. RIP.

Personally i was a fan and will miss his takes and The Athleties very much. One of the only journalists in Vancouver that was not afraid to call out Canuck management and tell it like it is. The Vancouver reporting scene is worse off without him.

 

[thekernel]

RIP Botch...

My nightmare is to go before having seen the Canucks win a Cup.

At least the poor bastard got to cover Elias Pettersson for a season. EP40 really let him breathe some hope into his articles...he could tell something special was brewing. Shame he won't be joining us for this generation of Canucks....

 

[krutovsdonut]

my condolences to his family. that is a horrible thing for his wife and children to go through.

 

[Melvin]

What the f***.

 

[Tak7]

Forgive my ignorance - was Botchford not always taking shots/jabs at Canucks fans?

It seems like the only time he showed up in my space (non-Canucks fans), it was because he was mocking them?

 

[sting101]

Wow this is horrible and shocking.

He definitely said a lot of things that were contraversial, but no denying his passion and vision of the team and the situations was as good as there is in the local media.

Will miss his takes and voice. Definitely saw a lot of things in the game i shared and now were left with more guys that are less tuned in and unwilling to challenge takes and opinions like Jason was prepared to do.

Big loss for us fans and obviously all his family.............damn

 

[krutovsdonut]

i always wondered if he was a member here since he was so aligned in his views with some posters. it will be interesting to see if any regular account here stops posting now.

 

[DL44]

3 kids..
I have 3 kids.. The thought of leaving them at any instant is a devastating one. One day...

 

[Josepho]

Forgive my ignorance - was Botchford not always taking shots/jabs at Canucks fans?

It seems like the only time he showed up in my space (non-Canucks fans), it was because he was mocking them?

He may have been mocking the uber-defensive bunch and tended towards criticizing the team more than the rest of our pathetic market. That's it.

He cared about this team as much as anybody.

 

[Budddy]

Very sad to see this. One of the reasons I subscribed to Athletic...very entertaining to read. RIP

 

[4Twenty]

Absolutely tragic. He changed the way we all viewed sports and made the post-games fun even when the hockey was nothing but. As a father of two it's just gutting thinking about his family. RIP, hug and kiss your loved ones folks.