Nantz is now lending his voice to Genworth’s new #LetsTalk campaign, the goal of which is to make more families talk about long-term care to better prepare themselves and their loved ones for Alzheimer’s and other debilitating diseases.

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“As my father went through a long decline, suffering from Alzheimer’s, I had a real awareness of how long-term care is such an essential part of what people should do with their lives,” Nantz told Sporting News. “It was something that I was very happy to try to be a spokesman for. It’s brutally difficult thing that affects so many more people than anyone really has a great awareness of.”

Nearly 70 percent of Americans will need long-term care after the age of 65. For Nantz, the cause is very personal.

When his late father, Jim Jr. was near the end of his bout with Alzheimer’s, it inspired Nantz to write a book, “Always By My Side”, to inspire others by their relationship. That led the broadcaster to his next passion project, funding and establishing the Nantz National Alzheimer Center at Houston Methodist Hospital, one of the world’s largest clinical research facilities.

“I wrote what was a father-son love story,” Nantz said. “It was a book about goodness. It had such a following that I knew I had to be something more. I had to roll up my sleeves, get my uniform dirty and within a couple years of my father’s passing, we started the foundation for what we hoped.”

Just in the four short years since the inception of the Nantz National Alzheimer Center in 2011, Nantz has seen the disease increasingly being talked about. Take last Sunday’s Oscars telecast, when Julianne Moore won Best Actress for portraying a woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s in “Still Alice”, and music from the legendary Glen Campbell, now battling Alzheimer’s, was celebrated.

It was a couple of touching moments for Nantz. He hung on every word of Moore’s speech, and recalled his times playing golf with his good friend Campbell.

“The word about Alzheimer’s, it grows every year,” Nantz said. “Thirty years ago, nobody talked about it. There kind of was a stigma to it. I wanted to break down those walls and barriers with it. There are too many people afflicted with it.

“If your family is in position where a loved one is facing a serious illness or disease, you’re going to want to be prepared for that, because it can absolutely cripple a family, not only financially, but emotionally. The amount of time that goes along with this in the caregiving world, it’s staggering. I saw it firsthand. You just don’t want to be blindsided, like a lot of families have been.”

Nantz’s public efforts in the health world toward helping others better understand Alzheimer’s and long-term care have not gone unappreciated for those who hear him on a football, basketball or golf broadcast. There is greater respect for his greater voice, and he tries to reciprocate.

“It’s amazing how many people, when I walk out of a booth or walk into an arena or golf tournament, want to talk to me about Alzheimer’s," Nantz said. “I’m very respectful of the fact they just need someone to listen. I’m very sensitive to it.”

Nantz is good friends with former President George W. Bush, and recalls something what Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, did during his presidency, challenging Americans to be “points of light”. Nantz is blessed that he’s had the platform to serve as such a beacon.

“I’ve been given the dream job. There has to be more to it than having the best seat in the house,” Nantz said. “I can have this voice away from those events, and I know that’s what my father would be telling me to do right now.

“My voice is my father’s voice; it has a purpose greater than calling Super Bowls, Final Fours and Masters tournaments. I want his voice to be heard.”