OK, today’s post is totally off-topic, but sometimes, you have to stop and acknowledge somebody who does something nice for you. Years ago, I was a student at DePaul University. But before that, I began following the Blue Demons men’s basketball team when I was in high school in the mid-to-late 1970s. For those of you who are old enough to remember, those were the glory years for DePaul. But unlike many of the fans who jumped on the bandwagon back then, I never jumped off. Over all the years since Mark Aguirre played for the Blue Demons, I’ve kept attending several games per season. I don’t think I’ve missed a DePaul/Notre Dame game since 1979.
Last year, as the father of 6th grade sports nut of a son, I decided to up my DePaul investment and try to make a Demon fan out of Cal. So I purchased a season ticket plan. With DePaul’s entry into the Big East, the team routinely plays some of the best basketball squads in the country.
We wound up having a great time. The team had a nice season and won some big games, including an always-satisfying last-second win against ND. But the highlight of the year came courtesy of one extremely nice girl who works for DePaul.
Kristen, from the marketing department, is in charge of many in-game activities and promotions, but she also takes care of lining up boys to work on the floor, where they perform the glamorous job of sweeping the lane, wiping up players’ sweat and keeping the referees watered from the icy Igloo cooler. Prior to one of last season’s games, she wandered up into the stands and happened to pick my son Cal. It was like the Grand Prize Game arrows from th old Bozo’s Circus happened to fall on him.
For a kid, the job is about as cool as it gets. For that kid’s dad, it’s even cooler to see your boy living out the fantasy of getting up close to both his favorite DePaul players and some of the best college players in America from the other Big East schools.
After Cal’s first stint on the floor, he was eager to do it again. The next time we attended a game, he wanted me to go down and ask if he could work. But I decided it was something he needed to do for himself. So, Cal got up the nerve and went down and asked Kristen personally. Now, I don’t know whether it was the fact he had the moxie to ask for himself, or whether is was the fact he actually appeared to know what he was doing on the job, but Kristen wound up giving him several more opportunities to work throughout the season. And last night at the DePaul/Georgetown game, she hooked him up again.
So today, I want to say thank you to Kristen! For several years, I had been trying to sell Cal on DePaul basketball. But no matter how much talking I might have done, I could never have accomplished what Kristen has done with her friendly attitude and her willingness to let an eager kid perform his dream job.
Thanks, Kristen. Forget the players. You are my favorite Blue Demon! DePaul is lucky to have you.
To contact Tim, write him at timplacher@yahoo.com
For more information on Tim’s campaign, visit www.timforjudge.com
