Sports found Vic Lombardi, and he’s spent his entire adult life looking for ways to make sports more fun and interesting for all of us.
The son of Italian immigrants Ezio and Bambina Lombardi, he didn’t speak any English until he was about 7. He remembers watching the neighborhood kids playing soccer and joining in the game anyway, without knowing the rules.
“It was my way of assimilating into the culture. It was my way of becoming an American,” recalled Lombardi, a television and radio host for Altitude Sports. “It inspired me to want to be a part of something bigger. I’m grateful to sports for giving me that exposure.”
By age 12, Lombardi had found his calling after becoming enthralled by the late-night sports broadcasts of Ron Zappolo, Les Shapiro and Tom Green, and as he sat in front of the TV in his North Denver home, he vowed to pursue a career in broadcasting.
After more than 30 years in the media industry, it’s clear that Lombardi made the right choice. Self-described as “the most punchable face in Denver media for 25 consecutive years,” Lombardi is a fearless interviewer, a journalist with a passion for storytelling and a reporter with a slapstick sense of humor.
In recognition of Lombardi’s excellence and longevity, he was recently inducted into the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Silver Circle, which recognizes meaningful and significant contributions to broadcasting over 25 years of service. Lombardi is the first dedicated sports anchor in this group and was informed of the honor by Altitude staff in a surprise ceremony last week.
What’s it like to achieve living legend status?
“I had no idea. I was going to a barbecue, so I was dressed for a barbecue,” Lombardi said. “I’m humbled and honored.”
Lombardi’s greatest strength is his ability to move forward without losing his identity: he makes people laugh, he makes people angry, and he makes people want to hang out with him.
“He was one of the most authentic TV anchors I’ve ever worked with, someone who loved to get lost in his stories – sometimes too lost,” says Tim Wieland, president and general manager of CBS Colorado. “His stories often involved him buying and breaking things. I ended up making a line item for ‘Vic’ in my expense budget because I knew he’d need it for something.”
Lombardi, 55, keeps himself busy as a husband to his wife, Terri, and father to son Dante and daughters Alexis and Isabella. Sports are within his reach, too. He plays golf and basketball, and his competitive spirit and versatility have defined his career.
“He connects with every audience. He can tell stories that nobody else can,” said Matt Kroll, vice president and general manager of Altitude Sports. “Whether he’s interviewing Charles Barkley or fans at a Nuggets game, it’s entertaining.”
In 1987, as a freshman at the University of Colorado, Lombardi approached the campus radio station asking to broadcast sporting events and host a talk show. There was just one problem: KUCB played alternative music and played sports only through the station’s Ultimate Frisbee intramural team. Undaunted, Lombardi borrowed equipment to do play-by-play coverage and obtained a press pass from veteran sports information director David Plati, who worked there part-time.
Upon enrolling at the University of Notre Dame, Lombardi continued his career as an announcer at the Irish university, where he called some of the biggest games with big name players during his time there, and after graduation, he was set to work as an Olympic researcher for NBC Sports.
“Then I was asked, ‘Do you want to work behind the scenes or in front of the camera?’ I’m a hamster,” Lombardi says. “I got hired by WSJV in Elkhart, Indiana. I lived with another sportsman at the station, and he had seven cats. I was allergic to cats, but he was very nice.”
Talent doesn’t move along traditional timelines. Lombardi soon arrived in Austin, Texas, then moved to Phoenix before returning to his hometown to anchor weekends at CBS4. It was in Austin that Lombardi began to make a name for himself, covering the Dallas Cowboys at training camp, where he donned a uniform, mic in hand, and became an athletic weatherman.
“He was with the punter the whole practice. The coaching staff didn’t know who he was. The players didn’t know who he was,” Lombardi said with a laugh. “It was the stupidest story I’ve ever been involved in. (Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones was happy about it.”
Current 9News sports producer Brian Olson worked in the area then and remembers the story.
“It was like George Plimpton’s ‘Paper Lion,'” Olson says. “Vic was always full of energy and ideas. You could tell he was ready to do big things.”
It was Lombardi’s dream to work in Denver, and to his surprise, the stage was too big for him. There was no longer a nameless, faceless audience; it was his family and friends watching him perform.
“I’ve struggled with anxiety and I’ve had to overcome it,” Lombardi admitted. “If I don’t feel nervous when I’m speaking to a crowd or an audience, I think there’s something wrong with my presentation.”
At CBS4, Lombardi found his way and quickly became a well-known sports personality in Denver. His sports broadcasts were engaging and his commentary was hard-hitting. He had some outside-the-box vibes, like conducting interviews without a microphone at Broncos training camp.
“He was using spoons to talk to his players,” Lionel Bienvenu of the Denver 7 said. “They didn’t notice. It’s a very funny clip. He was always looking for creative ways to be different.”
At Altitude, Lombardi has served in a variety of roles, from pre- and post-game host to sideline reporter, and even hosted the Nuggets’ championship parade last summer, with the former Nuggets ball boy creating one of the event’s most memorable moments by calling head coach Michael Malone “the father of the Lakers.”
“I made a fundamental mistake. I crawled up in a 12-year-old’s body. The Lakers dominated us for 40 years, and by “we,” I mean the fans who grew up here in Denver,” Lombardi said. “We finally punched the bullies in the mouth. It was never my intention to be a part of this story.”
It was born out of passion, like so many things throughout his illustrious broadcasting career.
Lombardi’s stamp has been on nearly every major sporting event held in Colorado over the past three decades, and he’s done it while making many friends, a few enemies and winning a slew of Emmy awards.
“You have to give people a reason to react and respond,” Lombardi said. “I’m not afraid because I don’t know any better. I was born to immigrant parents. I shouldn’t be here. I’ve already won.”
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