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Sure, there was that job offer from a radio station in Oelwein, Iowa, about 30 years ago. It was a larger market than Viroqua, Wis., where Gilbertson was sports director for radio station WVRQ. It would have been like moving from Mayberry to Mount Pilot, but it was a step up.
Of course, Gilbertson said no. If there's an insect that carries the wanderlust virus, it's never bitten him.
"I had no urgency to get out of town," Gilbertson said.
Think of what he would have missed if he had.
Gilbertson, a Coon Valley, Wis., native, wouldn't be celebrating 36 years of full-time employment at WVRQ, the station that gave him his first break in 1965. He would have missed seeing Westby, De Soto and Cashton high schools combine to win seven WIAA state football titles between 1976 and 1986. He might not have met another competent play-by-play man and lifelong friend like Pete Walby, who has shared a microphone with Gilbertson at many a game.
Broadcasting high school sports has been a big part of Gilbertson's life. If you've ever tuned in to either WVRQ-AM 1360 or WVRQ-FM 102.3, you've likely heard Gilbertson's warm, amiable baritone voice. Given the amount of sporting events he's broadcast — it's safe to say it's well over 1,000 — Gilbertson could give Paul Harvey a run for his money in hours logged on the air.
A big reason Gilbertson has been around so long is his Joe Friday, just-the-facts approach to broadcasting. If you want a story, listen to Vin Scully. If you want humor, listen to Bob Uecker. If you want a no-frills yet informative broadcast, Gilbertson is your man.
"I always admired (former Green Bay Packers announcer) Ray Scott. He was an announcer who kept things simple," said Gilbertson, who broadcast the Westby at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau football game Friday night. "Now things are different. Now television announcers want to be dramatic."
Gilbertson, 58, never set out to be John Madden. He's always been a baseball man. He grew up listening to Earl Gillespie call the play-by-play of Milwaukee Braves games in the 1950s and 60s. Gilbertson says with a laugh he would listen to the Braves on the radio and watch the CBS-TV game of the week on Saturdays while keeping a scorebook of both games.
To be honest, Gilbertson says high school football is his third-favorite sport to cover, behind wrestling. He covered just one prep football game last season simply because he wanted a break and to spend a little more time with his wife of 34 years, Judy.
But Gilbertson didn't want to stay away forever. Some of his favorite memories involve high school football. He saw De Soto win the Coulee Region's first WIAA state football championship in 1976. He watched — or tried to, anyway — Westby beat Beloit Turner in a WIAA playoff game played in a snowstorm in the mid 1980s.
"After being away last year, I noticed how much the fans enjoy rooting for their teams. That's the one thing about sports that I've always enjoyed. They really support the kids," Gilbertson said.
"When Richland Center and Viroqua played (in the season opener), I thought to myself, ‘I did miss football.'"
There will be a considerable void in Gilbertson's life when he decides he's broadcast his last game. Not that that day is coming anytime soon, he says.
"I hope I can keep going for awhile," Gilbertson said. "I'm planning on sticking around as long as the listeners want me to."
That was good news for Gilbertson's audience 30 years ago when he decided not to leave Viroqua. I'm guessing they'll still be happy to hear him say that today.
Kirk Bey can be reached at (608) 791-8414, or at kbey@lacrossetribune.com
