Editor's note: Jonathan Gold is a third-year law student at Saint Louis University. He penned this story on Sunday after learning of the death of the man he referred to simply as "Coach."
It was a little less than six years ago that I had my first encounter with Rick Majerus. I was finishing my sophomore year at Saint Louis University, and, like many, was a bit disappointed with our school's athletics at the time.
I loved college sports, basketball included, but didn't see much hope for our school in the near future. I was grabbing breakfast in the student center, and between wolfing down a bagel and making my way out of the building, I noticed something going on. A couple television news crews were making their way into a ballroom in the basement.
I peeked my head in and saw the stage and microphones set up in front of a Billikens' backdrop. I went to the back of the room, opened my laptop, and Googled "SLU Billikens." There was my answer.
SLU had hired Rick Majerus to head the men's basketball program.
- The RFT profile: "Rick Majerus, Big Man on Campus" - More Rick Majerus coverage from Riverfront Times
I didn't know much about Majerus at the time, but another quick search painted an interesting picture. I'm not sure why, but I was hooked. I was both excited and intrigued. Why would a guy like Majerus come here? As far as I could tell, he had no roots or connections here, he had a good job as an analyst, and if he wanted to coach, he certainly could go somewhere with an easier turnaround job than SLU.
That was my first lesson I learned from Rick Majerus.
