Pete Weber has had himself quite a summer.
A European excursion to Austria and Switzerland, coupled with visits to emcee the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony and to attend the National Sports Media Association Awards in North Carolina have helped fill the calendar.
There are also lunches and plenty of time spent with his loving wife of 37 years, Claudia, in the offseason.
But what the Voice of the Predators didn’t see coming was the summertime hat trick of honors received - and for very good reason.
“I think I have aged well,” Weber quipped via phone during one of those lunches with his No. 1 fan. “I think that's a big part of that. You've been around for a while, and you get these honors. I'm very pleased to be certain.”
Weber - who has been a constant with the Preds since the franchise’s first game back in 1998 - not only earned the title of Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year for an unheard of 10th time, but a pair of other prestigious accolades really took things to another level.
There was an induction into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2026, which also included former Preds broadcaster Mark Howard.
“For a guy who's doing hockey in Tennessee, to be in the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, it’s special,” Weber said. “I think there's one other hockey announcer that's in there, and he was the first voice of the [former Nashville] Dixie Flyers, Buzz Benson. When I was on the board, I pushed for his induction.”
And then, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame - which has already welcomed the likes of Preds legends Shea Weber, Pekka Rinne, Mike Fisher, David Legwand and Terry Crisp - came calling.
To use a baseball analogy for the summer pastime aficionado, Weber never saw it coming.
“[It hit me out of] left field,” Weber said. “It could have been left field, it could have been from the third base dugout - it hit me. It was a surprise.”
Those who have watched and listened to Weber call Predators hockey games since the beginning - over 2,000 contests - were perhaps less stunned than Weber, but the veteran broadcaster has had plenty of moments to express his gratitude in recent months.
“It makes me think that some people have actually been listening, which is nice,” Weber laughed. “That's the big pat on the back right there… But just the idea that people have enjoyed me doing what I enjoy doing so much, that means a lot.”
Weber never set out in this profession for the awards, but each one is special. The honors are a testament to not only how good he simply is at his job, but also the impact he’s had in this city in growing the game of hockey and helping people to fall in love with the sport.
And when the puck drops again this October and he puts on a headset once more, Weber will continue to be grateful to those on the other end for sharing that passion with him.
“The only thing I can really say to them is, ‘Thank you,’” Weber said of Preds fans. “Thank you for your devotion to listening. I think that's absolutely fantastic, and the idea that we have some sort of effect on somebody; I mean, I know what it was like to be the little kid with the transistor radio under the pillow, trying to keep the volume down at night so I wouldn't roust my parents. I know how much that meant to me back then, and I'm hoping that it's somewhat similar now, even though we don't know what a transistor radio is anymore and someone is streaming on a cell phone instead.”
