Russ Koenig

My wife learned why DePaul will be the greatest redemption story in college basketball tonight… While sitting with a buddy (@BenPokorny) I made through DePaul Twitter, she began by assuming he went to DePaul. He did not. Surely, his dad must have gone to DePaul. He did not. DePaul was SO big in the 70’s-90’s that everyone in Chicago was paying attention. They sold out 17,000 seats at the Horizon, regularly. They were so big that a father raised his son to be a fan of a school neither of them would attend. And to be fans through the darkest years of the programs history, while still believing that it can become great once again. Ray & Joey Meyer were blue collar Chicago royalty. They were known across the country for their loyalty and hard work at a little old catholic school under the L tracks in Lincoln Park. I pointed out Mark Aguirre (@lowpost2424) tonight as he cross our section and told her that he was the #1 overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft and that his teammate Terry Cummings would go #2 overall the following year. We had WGN. We performed well above the expectations for a school like ours and the country was enamored. Kevin Pokorny had season tickets for over a decade despite not being an alumni. His son grew up as a DePaul fan, and is now one of the most passionate fans despite having gone to college elsewhere. My wife grew up in a well educated family. Purdue. TCU. Princeton. Northwestern. Clemson. Harvard. Wisconsin. UNC. Lots of college sports allegiances exist in our family. Some fair weather fans… But absolutely zero catagory 5 hurricane die hard fans who’ve endured anything close to what the DePaul faithful have endured. This is why DePaul is special. This is why we still honor @Coach_RayMeyer and his family. It means more. By fixing and bringing DePaul back to glory, we’ll see a once great (and unlikely) powerhouse resurrect the dreams of those who’ve gone decades without a respectable team in Lincoln Park. This is why I love this program. This is why it means more. This is how I hope my son grows up and recognizes loyalty and perseverance through this program. If it were anything other than college basketball, it wouldn’t make sense… But as we say… We sleep in May. #ScoMons @DePaulHoops @DePaulAthletics @ChrisHoltmann @BlueDemonsAD @BlueDemonDegen @TheDePaud