Roundtable: What's your favorite Adam Munsterteiger memory?

When Adam Munstertieger brought me (Leo Rivera IV) on to BuffStampede, my first assignment was to organize this roundtable. A weekly debate segment I’d be responsible for coming up with to help engage with fans. 

After his passing, this weeks roundtable will be dedicated to him and his wife Liz, as the staff was asked: Share an Adam Munsterteiger memory. 

Sean Niehoff

I shared this story with those of us who gathered at the DNVR bar last week to remember Adam and commiserate our shared loss. Seems a fitting story to share here.

Many of you are aware of Adam’s love of the Boston Celtics. Back in 2023 during Coach Prime’s first season in Boulder, when there was a weekly who’s-who of athletes and celebrities gracing the Colorado sideline, former CU legend and current Celtic Derrick White was joined by Jaylen Brown, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett to take in the USC game.

If you knew Adam at all, you knew that he was always the consummate professional and rarely, if ever, starstruck despite his job and travels often putting him in close proximity to high profile sports figures, actors, musicians, etc.

Adam’s gameday routine included landing at the stadium several hours ahead of gametime. After his pre-game video and frequently a guest spot on someone’s radio broadcast, television pregame show, or video podcast, we would sit in the press box with binoculars trained on player warmups and the sidelines to provide his readers with an early sense of player availability, lineup changes, and general gameday atmosphere.

There were stars aplenty at Buffs games back in ’23. In fact, the sideline featured other notables like Will Ferrell, DaBaby, CC Sabathia, and DeSean Jackson for that USC contest. Adam took note of them all and posted their presence in his weekly gameday thread and on X to bring the flavor of the atmosphere to those watching and reading from home.

But when his field glasses landed on the duo of Pierce and Garnett, we got a reaction from Adam that I had never seen before. In an instant, the 44-year-old professional in his button-down shirt and suit coat morphed into a 13-year-old kid in his ballcap and Celtics jersey.

It was the only time that I ever saw Adam starstruck, and he genuinely didn’t know what to do. Eyes wide with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen, he desperately wanted to head down to the field and use his field access to brush elbows with two of his sports heroes but was torn by the professionalism he brought to his craft.

I’m not sure there was much more pre-game color that he provided that afternoon, as he kept his binoculars focused on the duo for the next quarter of an hour hemming and hawing about what to do.

Eventually, he did go down to the field, but he never shared whether he broke his own journalistic code and asked the Celtics idols for a selfie. I’d like to think that he got his moment with them and chose to keep it private, but I’ll never know.

When I think of Adam, I’ll always come back to the image of that grown man turned little boy and the pure joy of his ear-to-ear smile.

Will Burnett 

The first time I met Adam Munsterteiger was actually over the phone. Living in Los Angeles, when I saw a “303” area code pop up on my screen, I immediately had a feeling we’d hit it off. My Colorado intuition was right.

Before we ever talked business or the possibility of me joining BuffStampede, we talked about football, not just the game itself, but how perfectly it mirrors life. The highs, the setbacks, the passion.. It was supposed to be an introductory call, but somewhere along the way it turned into two Buff fans swapping stories like old friends. Adam had a way of making everyone feel like a longtime friend regardless of how long he knew you.

Then the conversation shifted to Los Angeles.

Back when Colorado was still in the Pac-12, Adam would come out to LA every year when the Buffs played USC or UCLA. I asked him what he liked to do while he was out there, and his eyes lit up immediately.

“First thing I do is hit Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, then hit the beach.”

From there, we somehow spent the next 20 minutes talking almost exclusively about Roscoe’s. We laughed when we realized how long we had been discussing chicken and waffles like it was a life-or-death topic. Before we hung up, I told him the next time he came out to California, he had a place to stay, and that our first stop would absolutely be Roscoe’s.

From that moment on, it became our running joke.

Every FaceTime call, every work check-in, every conversation about Colorado football or life eventually ended the same way.

“I gotta get back out to LA soon.”

And I’d answer:

“Roscoe’s is here waiting for you.”

We’d laugh, then hang up.

I never really considered there would be a world where we wouldn’t eventually make that happen.

What made Adam special wasn’t just the work he did covering Colorado athletics. It was the way he made people feel. No matter how busy he was – and he was always busy – he made time to ask how life was going. Not in a surface-level way. He genuinely cared. And judging by the overwhelming amount of love people have shared this week, it’s clear he made everyone feel seen the same way he made me feel seen.

I’ll forever be grateful not only for our working relationship, but for our friendship.

And somewhere in Los Angeles, Roscoe’s is still waiting.

Oliver Hayes 

Usually, the people you remember meeting for the first time are celebrities. You spend all that time seeing them on television, on the radio, in the news and so on. Then, they’re right there in front of you. 

It’s surreal. 

And while Adam Munsterteiger – or, as I had saved in my phone, “The GOAT Munyun,” due to his status as a Colorado sports reporter and former CU guard Shannon Sharpe’s favorite word after makes during Colorado’s 2023 TBT practices, where I first got to know Adam – wouldn’t have counted himself a celebrity, I think many of us would view him as such. When I met him for the first time, it certainly felt that way.

Head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders had just been hired in December of 2022, and it was finally spring football time when I first got to meet Adam. The sun was out over the practice field next to Folsom, and a tent sat over a podium. I believe either linebackers coach Andre’ Hart or wideouts coach Brett Bartolone was set to speak with whichever players. I talked to the few student journalists I knew, but mostly kept to myself before the scrum. But I couldn’t stop looking over Adam and Brian Howell. I mean, wow! They’re right there!

I can’t act like I had followed either of them on Twitter for long at that point. Admittedly, I hadn’t cared much for Colorado sports until I arrived at Boulder. But with aspirations of becoming a sports journalist when I came to CU, I had stalked their accounts for most of my freshman year. So while I was nervous to ask a question at my first scrum, and don’t believe I did, I was more nervous to talk to Adam and Brian. But I pushed myself to do so.

“Hey, excuse me,” I said.

“Hey, how ya doing?” they both responded, about to set up for an analysis video.

“My name is Oliver Hayes, I’m a freshman here at CU…” I started. Then I realized I didn’t think about what I was going to say. “…Uh, I honestly don’t know what to ask or do, but you guys are the ones that everyone goes to for CU sports. What would you recommend?”

Both of them smiled and thanked me for the compliment. 

“Well, I’m not sure about all that,” Adam said, responding to the praise I had given. “But, you’re here. Keep doing that.”

“Yeah, and read the great writers,” Brian added. “You ever read Rick Reilly, SI’s backpage guy?”

I nodded, thanked them and rushed back to my dorm. I think I texted my dad. I was just so happy.

Anyway, I followed their advice. I kept reading and consuming their work, and I kept showing up.

So, when Jimmie Searfoss was set to graduate, he sent my number to Adam. At the 2024 Pac-12 tournament, the three of us recorded a preview. It was my first time featured on the site, and Adam enjoyed the advanced statistics I used to show why KJ Simpson should have been named the conference player of the year.

By the start of next season, my junior year, I was working for Adam. And I couldn’t have been more proud of myself; I was working for Adam Munsterteiger.

Oddly, not seeing Adam meant I was doing my job. He didn’t have to cover any CU basketball across the last two seasons – not that there was too much good to report – and got to spend that time with his family. I’m forever grateful that I got to help him and his family in that way.

Yet, even though Adam and I weren’t always seeing each other face-to-face outside of football season, he was someone who often checked in. 

We had plenty of breakfasts and lunches. Being the foodie he was, we always had good eats. And I never covered an event outside of Colorado for him without a good food recommendation. I wanted to pay for his meal at least one of these times, but even when I would pull out my card, he would make me put it away and cover the bill. He often drove me to whichever class I had afterward.

Since lunch wasn’t always an option, we frequently texted and FaceTimed. I was usually asking for journalistic advice. We often talked about the Boston Celtics, both being die-hards. But he was there for the other parts of my life, too.

When I lost a pet in December, the same day the transfer portal opened, Adam called me at his first break to check in despite having worked since the early hours of the morning; I don’t think he had seen his family at that point. When my ex-girlfriend and I split up after two years, I got to see how much a man could love his wife, as he explained how grateful he was to meet Liz, even if it took longer than he expected. When I graduated shortly after his first hospital visit, he was still able to congratulate me and ask about my weekend.

So, while I viewed him as a celebrity when I first met him, ecstatic to meet him and Brian, I quickly got to know the human side of Adam. I got to know the man with a great big smile and a burning desire to bring news to those who bleed Black-and-Gold. I got to know someone who not only showed me how to be a solid journalist with integrity and care for his audience, but also how to love, whether as a friend, a father, a husband or a son.

The last two texts he sent Leo and me, the Sunday before he passed, read:

“OK, sweet. I will hand off the keys to y’all then for the rest of today, if that is OK.”

“God bless you both!”

Thank you for believing in us, Adam. Your trust and guidance mean the world. And thank you to the board for checking in on us. We will work endlessly to preserve the greatness that Adam built.

Leo Rivera IV 

This story I haven’t shared yet, but felt here would be the best place to do so. For context, Adam and I happen to live just 10 minutes apart, something we were able to bond over as we’d compare and contrast our routes to Boulder. 

It was the Saturday after Adam had gotten out of the hospital the first time. Just days into his recovery. I woke up to a text from him, asking if I was bored and wanted to watch sports to come by. 

An entertaining slate of CU women’s lacrosse, MLB, NBA, The Kentucky Derby, golf and NBA basketball awaited, and I was going to get to watch it at Adam and Liz Munsterteiger’s house. Having not seen him in person since before his first hospital visit, I was eager to catch up and elated to watch something other than football with him (of course we still talked about football).  

When I opened the door I was quickly greeted by the dogs, Punchy and Oliver who seemed happy to have a visitor. They’re the sweetest. Right by his side, as always ,was Liz. But what quickly caught my attention was the giant gold ‘A’ chain dangling from Adam’s neck. 

Funny enough, he said he’d wear it to have drip like me (I wear a gold cross daily), and had gotten it as a gift awhile back. That day he out did me, however. While I’ll keep most of the conversation details private, there were a few things that stuck out to me that day. 

I got to learn more about the loving husband, caring father, and kid who grew up meant to be covering sports. I asked him questions about coaches, players and teams he’s covered and all the great CU moments he’d witness. I learned how he approached journalism and his plans for the future. 

While I heard endless stories, we flipped between games, getting to cheer on the big moments, something we couldn’t do together as professionals in the pressbox. I got to hear about all the other sports Adam liked watching and some of his favorite players. It was comforting and relaxing getting to chill with Adam outside of the stressful press conference environment. Him and Liz made me feel so welcomed, like I’d been to the house a thousand times. 

However, what I’ll remember most was watching The Kentucky Derby. Adam loved lists, and had a full print out of every horse, but more importantly the ones he’d be rooting for. Although I knew of it, It was actually my first time watching the race. 

He’d shared with me his traditions and significance as we geared up for the anticipation of the run. I never thought a short horse race could be so fun. Laughing about the names and and making predictions with Adam and Liz made me realize I need to expand my sports watching to things I wouldn’t normally consider. 

As we watched history, and closed a day of sports, I got so excited for what the next year would look like under Adam. I’ll always appreciate getting to hear about all of the people he cared about in his life. He was easy to open up to, and someone who truly had a good soul, you could also tell that by the character of his wife, Liz who was just like him in a lot of ways. Loving humans.  

Before I left his house, I told him about a trip I would be taking to the Dominican Republic for my Race, Anti-Black Racism and Communication class. We agreed I’d tell him all about it when I got back. And although he had already fed me lunch, In his caring fashion, he sent me off with a chocolate ice cream cone. 

Thankfully, I got to spend one more afternoon with him, recording a standup the monday before my flight to the D.R. When I was gone, he even checked up mid trip to see how things were going, because that’d the type of man he was. Always looking out for others. 

I never got to tell Adam about my trip in person, and he was one of the people I was eager to speak with. However, the last Sunday he texted Oliver and I, he also left a like on my Instagram post I made that day. It had a few pictures from the trip and knowing he got to at least see those photos made me smile. 

I have many other keep moments that will stick out to me, that I’ll continue to share over time, and I hope everyone will continue to tell their stories of Adam too. There can never be another Adam, but we can all try to live like Adam, and love like Liz. 

Adam’s Celebration of Life will open to the public and be held on Friday, June 12 from 5-7 p.m. in the Byron R. White Club located in Folsom Field.  

You can support Adam’s family by clicking here.