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Thinking about Asheville, what could’ve been, after Hurricane Helene

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

I did not expect to go nearly two years without writing a new blog post on this site.

There are many reasons for that, which are more appropriate for a separate post. Those include other writing work and searching for new jobs, uncertainty over what I would do next with this blog and another site I’ve been trying to build for years, feeling like I didn’t have anything worth saying, getting busy with new work and, frankly, sheer laziness.

But I’ve been meaning to dust this blog off for quite a while and writing something about the devastation suffered by western North Carolina by Hurricane Helene has provided some motivation.

After living in Asheville for 13 years, we moved to Johnson City, Tennessee in June 2023. The owner of the condo that we rented for four years wanted to sell and we decided not to buy it. We were offered a fair price, but the unit also needed some work and we didn’t want to make that investment.

Needing a new place to live also provided an opportunity to move closer to my sister and her kids. Years earlier, we wouldn’t have wanted to leave Asheville. But COVID changed my lifestyle and outlook, and moving to a place that wasn’t as culturally vibrant didn’t bother me as much as it once would have. Being a bigger part of my nieces’ lives felt far more important.

Also, it just felt like time to move on. Asheville had changed a lot during my 13 years there and I didn’t like what it had become, especially in how the city favored tourists over residents. But maybe that’s better suited for a different post, as well.

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A sad goodbye to Pat Ryan, but happy memories of the fun we shared

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment
Image via WLOS-TV

Asheville, North Carolina lost a good man and a great friend Thursday with the death of longtime radio personality Pat Ryan. Pat had been struggling with colon cancer for the past four years, going in and out of treatment while enduring the ordeals that often come with that.

To sum up Pat in a sentence, he was a friend to all who met him. Pat would often take the contributors to the WISE Guys radio show out for lunch to show his gratitude. I often joked it was like eating with the mayor. He always had warm greetings for people he knew (or just met) and so many would come over to say hello, whether they were friends or fans. Pat would always make sure to introduce those he was with as well, making sure no one was left out of the conversation.

That was pretty much Pat’s philosophy as a radio host too. No one was left out. Pat hosted a sports talk show and that meant sometimes talking about national stories and topics. But he knew it was a local show. The WISE Guys could offer the audience something that ESPN Radio or Fox Sports Radio syndicated programming couldn’t.

Local high school and college coaches across Western North Carolina were a big part of the show, many of whom became friends. Current and former athletes, along with local sports reporters were featured as well. UNC Asheville, Western Carolina, Owen High School, A.C. Reynolds, Asheville High. And not just football and basketball coaches. Soccer, baseball, swimming, track, lacrosse, boys and girls sports, were also highlighted. When Asheville had a roller derby team, players appeared on the show.

Pat didn’t just feature sports either. Charities and local fundraisers had an opportunity to reach a wider group of potential donors on the air. Listeners got to hear what was going on locally in entertainment, events, and business with writers like Ashvegas‘s Jason Sandford and Alli Marshall of Mountain Xpress. The WISE Guys wasn’t just a sports show; it was a show for Asheville. But out-of-towners tuning in could get a feel for what was happening in town too.

I was lucky to be a (very) small part of Pat’s show — and “merry band of contributors” circle — for the past nine years. Anybody who’s stopped by this site knows that my appearances on WISE Sports Radio are a big part of the content here. Hell, while most of my writing time and energy was devoted to work at Awful Announcing or Barrett Sports Media, those audio clips kept the lights on here. My last appearance — which unfortunately turned out to be my last conversation with Pat — was Monday, Nov. 7.

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