Sports timeout to mourn a dear, irreplaceable friend

By Ed Daniels, Sports

For much of the past 18 years this space has been about sports.

But, not this week.

It is about profound loss.

That one of my greatest friends – a man you could count on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – was gone, hit me when I pulled up in the driveway in front of his home.

His personalized LSU license plate told a story. He loved his Tigers.

In the days after his passing after a 15-month battle with cancer, all I could think of was his delight in the 2019 LSU football season.

From the press box in Tuscaloosa, at a very quiet Bryant Denny Stadium at halftime, my wife told me of the joy of her best friend’s husband watching at home.

“We are the team, we are the team!” he said, over and over, as Joe Burrow threw dimes, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran over and right by the players in the crimson jerseys.

His Saturdays in the fall were all about his beloved Tigers.

In typical fashion, in the offseason, he would complain about all the calls he would get from the Tiger Athletic Foundation, telling him he could have much better seats, if he would only part with a few thousand dollars.

He sat in the north endzone, till the end. It was home.

This man was one of the most generous people I have ever known. Last summer, he and his wife took six of his closest friends to Mexico for a week to a plush resort.

His treat.

He could be gruff, and yes, at times difficult, but the trip was his way of saying that he loved us.

At Mass on Sunday morning, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, the basket was passed for the tiny church, which obviously didn’t have much.

He had his check written before he left the resort: $100 to give to a total stranger. That was him. As decent as the day was long.

When the trip ended for me, and I was headed back early for the start of Saints training camp, I wondered if he would ever see Mexico again.

At Christmas time, he would go out to dinner with two other couples.

We would talk Saints and LSU football. He would make some outrageous remark that we hoped the people sitting at the next table would not hear.

And, then after saying a few things he should not, he would pull hundreds of dollars of gift cards out of his wallet and pay for the meal.

Last week, his family and friends said goodbye.

His death has shaken all of us, to the core.

I promised myself, in the days after, that I would not waste a moment, again.

And, when Christmas time arrives, we will go to that same restaurant, and laugh and cry.

In the same minute, Tom McCoy could make you do both.

And, then of course, he would pick up the tab.

Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].