All week writers who knew him far better than I have been eulogizing Rick Majerus.
The 64-year old former Marquette basketball coach died on December 1.
And, while my only real claim to the Majerus fame is a goofy rap song I wrote in the 1986 Marquette Tribune, I want to add a few words to the chorus of tributes.
As an uncommonly timid college junior working as the Tribune’s associate sports editor, I genuinely liked Coach Majerus. In a way, he and I came of age together as he began to emerge from Al McGuire’s intimidating shadow and I built a career as a sportswriter.
We shared an appreciation for all things Wisconsin — Sheboygan brats, Green Bay Packers and especially Marquette basketball and he graciously allowed me time to interview him whenever I asked.
He treated me and my fellow Tribune reporters with the same respect he offered the professionals back then and, as one of the few females in the post-game locker room, I relied on his support.
Coach Majerus approached the game with such a laser focus that I doubt he ever considered the impact he had on the peripheral associates of the game — especially the writers who covered the sport.
As I look back on the sports pages of the Marquette Tribune during the Majerus years, I note that almost all of those sports reporters have gone on to successful writing careers.
I know at least one that considers the time she spent covering the Rick Majerus Warriors one of the great privileges of her life.
