Dave Goode Loved You...

[Milford]

Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to ski with Dave Goode has had the awkward experience of having him tell the boat driver “I love you”. This was Dave’s ritual, his process, his muscle memory. Every tournament that Dave skied in across the world, the driver would get the “I love you” as his signal that he was ready to go. The looks on people’s faces were priceless! The experience was even better when the surprised recipient would respond with “umm...I love you too!” I even witnessed boat judges get in on the action.

 

For those who don’t know the back story, Dave developed this ritual during his early days of skiing with his wife Dawn. Dave took the opportunity on every set to tell her that he loves her as a sign of affection and appreciation for her learning to drive short line. Dave , like all of us waterski fanatics, started skiing really well and did not want to change his ritual, so he transitioned to telling his ski partners that he loved them. Then tournament drivers got the “I love you” treatment.

 

You never know when your last ride will be. As I think about Dave and his legacy, what I appreciate most is that he didn’t hold back on sharing his love for the sport and the people involved in it.

[thager]

I remember my surprise when I first heard Dave say it down at Joe Darwins in Louisiana about 2015. Caught me completely off guard, but after I heard it a few times that weekend I thought it was kinda cool!