ESPN analyst and Nashville local Kirk Herbstreit recently shared a heartbreaking update on social media, describing his neighborhood as looking like a “bomb exploded” after the brutal Winter Storm Fern. The historic ice storm, which hammered Middle Tennessee earlier this week, caused massive destruction that Herbstreit says will take weeks to clean up and years to fully recover from.

“What a crazy week it’s been here in Nashville. Almost can’t believe what this town (and I know many others in this region) have gone through. The ice storm was devastating and will take months to clean up and years to recover from. Our street look like a bomb exploded-complete devastation!” Kirk tweeted on X.

He then mentioned that his own area had been stuck without power for six straight days, making it incredibly difficult for families who were already struggling with the freezing cold and blocked-off streets.

It was a major disaster that left over 100,000 customers in the dark across Davidson County at its peak. Tragically, the extreme weather led to multiple deaths throughout the state. The sheer weight of the ice brought down countless trees and power lines, essentially paralyzing the region. Despite all the chaos, Kirk made sure to give a big shout-out to the “Good Samaritans” and arborists who were out there trying their best to help as many people as they could.

“Nashville will eventually recover and come back stronger, but this is still a disaster area. Really appreciate all the Good Samaritans (like my buddy Steve Hannah) and Arborists that are out trying to help as many as they can. If you have family or friends in this southern region I pray their finding warmth and a place to stay-temperatures this weekend here are going to still be well below freezing. Stay SAFE & Stay STRONG”

The conditions were still tough even now, with temperatures expected to stay well below freezing that weekend. The scale of the problem was massive; the Nashville Electric Service (NES) had hundreds of thousands of customers affected initially, and over 70,000 people still had no electricity almost a week later.

As the city starts to recover, local officials have opened warming centers and set up hotlines to help people clean up. If you need help, you can call the Crisis Cleanup Hotline or check TEMA Flash Reports for updates on power and safety.

However, this isn’t the only tragedy that struck Herbstreit’s family over the last few months.

The difficulties Kirk Herbstreit has endured

It has been an incredibly tough stretch for Kirk Herbstreit. He has dealt with several deeply personal losses. And he has still shown up for work every week. Most recently, in September 2025, he was in the middle of broadcasting a game when he learned that his close friend, legendary songwriter Brett James, had passed away in a plane crash.

On top of that, fans everywhere were heartbroken when Kirk’s famous golden retriever, Ben, passed away in November 2024. He was a literal star on College GameDay and at NFL games. He was widely known as the “goodest boy” on the sidelines.

Kirk’s family has also been facing serious health battles. In early 2025, he shared that his wife, Alison, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It was an emotional announcement. Especially since the family was already carrying heavy emotional weight from the previous year.

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Even before his wife’s diagnosis, the Herbstreits got shaken by another scare. Their son, Zak, who played football at Ohio State, suffered a major heart health issue. It landed him in the hospital for an extended period. Zak has been on a long road to recovery before joining On3 as an analyst.

Through it all, Kirk has been open about leaning on his faith and on his family to get through these difficult times. In fact Herbstreit has been open about how much he loves that college football players are being more vocal about their faith.

“I think Ohio State two years ago had some big leaders at the top of their run to a national championship that were very, very instrumental and even on campus kind of proclaiming their faith and talking about it,” Herbstreit said. “I think it’s fantastic that people were comfortable enough to talk about that. I think it’s been great.”

It’s clear that despite all the fame and success, Kirk’s world still revolves around the people he loves and his faith that protects him.