Looking Back: Bobby Rhine

I know it has been a few months since Bobby Rhine suddenly passed away. Many people who knew him well have written more eloquently than I about the life and legacy of Bobby Rhine. A few nights ago I was killing time with my phone perusing Twitter. I followed Bobby Rhine on Twitter. I had forgotten I followed Bobby Rhine on Twitter. I re-read his last tweet which is still there. “…Going off the grid for some beach time. Cup full of seeyoulaterade.”

I started following the Burn in 1997 – Rhine was drafted in 1999. For every game since then, Bobby has been with the club. He was always supporting the team in every way he could – on and off the field. I was proud that a former FC Dallas player like Bobby was still with the team calling the action. He fit everywhere he ever was at the club.

I did not know Bobby Rhine. I had only spoken to him once briefly after a game at the Cotton Bowl. A couple friends and I were hanging out after the game near the locker room and he came over and started a conversation. What athlete does that? When he died, it hit me harder than I thought it would or maybe even should.

I am lucky, other than grandparents, everyone I love and care about is still here. I have never understood the mass outpourings of grief I see on TV – memorials and flowers left by people for someone who they never knew. Until Bobby Rhine died.

I was in kind of a daze for a couple days. It was so sad and impossible to comprehend.

My men’s team here in Austin, we wear FC Dallas blue uniforms. One player on the team brought black arm bands for the team and we wore them in his honor. I don’t remember if we won or lost. The first FC Dallas game without Bobby in the booth was unbelievably sad. I missed his voice and his enthusiasm. I still do. That photo in the TV booth with Bobby leaning over and calling the action with Steve Jolley – it is the one picture that keeps coming into my mind.

I have 2 kids. I guess when you die the best that you can hope for is that you were loved and you will be remembered. Bobby Rhine was loved by those who knew him and he is missed by many more who did not. One day when FC Dallas wins MLS Cup and raises it into the sky I hope Bobby Rhine is looking down smiling. And when we win the Cup, I hope the players and the team look up to the sky and remember Bobby Rhine.