At the 2006 Big Ten media day in Chicago, Bob Asmussen convinced every Big Ten coach — including Bret Bielema, then at Wisconsin — to pose for a photo that best showed why they loved college football.
Bret Bielema
Our 2006 college football preview section, pulled off thanks to our photo shoot in the lobby of the Hyatt Riverwalk in Chicago.
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Bob Asmussen credits doctors and, in a way, college football for saving his life.
In 2012, he was waylaid by a heart attack, a major setback that would have sidelined most of us for good. But here we are, 11 years and several operations later, and Asmussen is still performing at a very high and exhausting level for one of the country’s finest sports sections.
“I love what I do,” said Asmussen, who next week will celebrate 34 years at The News-Gazette. “Honestly, knowing I had a job helped me survive all this stuff. It kept me motivated. It was really important to get back to work as soon as I could. It was a driving force in a positive way.”
The easygoing Asmussen, popular in the community and on the beat, kicks off another college football season with an expanded role. Starting Aug. 1, he’ll deliver “Can’t Wait For Saturday” at 8 a.m. each day at news-gazette.com. The football equivalent of basketball writer Scott Richey’s “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” CWFS will allow Asmussen another opportunity to share news and opinion on his favorite sport.
It’ll serve as the foundation to our new Illini football newsletter, which debuts Wednesday. Sign up to receive the daily email here.
Asmussen will have plenty to say. For the 14th year, he’s an Associated Press Top 25 voter; he’s the state’s Heisman Trophy voter coordinator; and, thanks to Bret Bielema, he has a rejuvenated Illini program to cover.
Maybe Coach will invite him in for a talk. Just like new snazzy uniforms, his story inspires.
“Best lesson I learned was don’t give up,” he said. “I probably should have died five times, but things aren’t that bad. Whatever you have going on, it’s not that bad. I’ve remained sunny throughout the whole thing.”