Bob Mikkelson’s Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Speech Offered a Poetic Peek Inside the Life of an Aerial Camera Operator

The true hallmark of a high profile sporting event is aerial coverage; a blimp or plane flying over the stadium capturing sparking images of field and the surrounding cityscape. One of the great pioneers in aerial sports camerawork is Bob Mikkelson, who was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame last week.

During his acceptance speech, Mikkelson gave a poignant description of what its been like to enjoy such a spectacularly unique career.

“Most weeks, the most high-tech and expensive piece of gear on a show is the aerial camera and yet it is attached to a flying machine that’s basically on change from before the days of the Wright Brothers. There is a bit of romance to all of this. I get to fly down Broadway. I hover over the Statue [of Liberty]. [I] fly over cities from coast to coast and around the world. I get to share with all of you the incomparable beauty of a Pebble Beach and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge backlit with a setting sun over the Pacific. How lucky am I?”

Mikkelson is the president/founder of Winged Vision, a company that, over the years, has provided spectacular aerial coverage of sporting events across the country.

MORE: Bob Mikkelson, The Standard-Setter for Aerial Coverage

Mikkelson built a reputation for himself throughout the industry and among golf fans for his impeccable ability to be able to follow a golfball in flight from an overhead, aerial camera.

Watch his full acceptance speech, including a unique story about an experience he had flying in Cold War-era Soviet Union:

For more on the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, visit www.sportsvideo.org/halloffame.