It was early in 1991, and the United States was embroiled in the first Gulf War.

During that time, it seemed like the United States was truly united. We were all worried as our soldiers fought a desert war against Iraq.

As Butte High and Butte Central’s boys’ basketball teams met in a packed Butte Civic Center, we had so much more than a game on our mid. Thankfully, the urinals at the Civic Center featured a picture of Saddam Hussein to help us with our aim and also help us get out a little frustration.

Before tipoff, Andy Larson took to the court for a beautiful rendition of “God Bless the USA” before he sang the national anthem. Nobody not named Whitney Houston could do those songs better than Andy Larson, who made sure there was not a single dry eye in the Civic Center before the Maroons went out and beat the Bulldogs first time in any sport in quite some time.

That night was one that I will never forget. I remember Ryan Maloney banking in a shot before halftime, and I remember being so excited to sit in the BC student section for a historic victory.

When I think about that night, though, the first thing I think about is Andy Larson singing. It was a truly beautiful way to begin the night.

In my opinion, Andy Larson is good enough to be playing on the big stage somewhere. He took some bigtime swings at stardom along the way. But he ended up settling in his hometown with a family. We are lucky to have him.

Yesterday, I met with Andy at the Coaches Corner at the Metals Sports Bar & Grill for a great conversation. Listen in as he talks about being a lucky husband and a proud father and grandfather. Listen in as he talks about his music career, which is still going strong, and all the bigtime names he met along the way.

Listen in to hear a true Butte legend.

Today’s podcast is presented by Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee.