While we all look forward to hockey season and the joy and enthusiasm that it all brings, you can’t help but go into the 2003-04 hockey season with a heavy heart if you’re part of the Rensselaer community.
In July we lost Tom Cavosie. On Sunday we lost Bill Cahill.
It’s hard to write about these things. It’s hard to know that two of the greatest and nicest men you’ll ever meet won’t be around anymore to tell you their stories, share their experiences, joke around with you and to have a drink with you. Things that I will miss and that I now cherish.
In July, I remembered back to the good times and the conversations that Tom Cavosie and I had. I remembered the big grin on his face senior night last year when his son Eric came out to greet him on the ice. I remember the happiness when his other son Marc said he was going to Rensselaer instead of Harvard, joining his brother on the men’s team.
I remembered the fun we had on State Street in Madison after Rensselaer beat Wisconsin in the Icebreaker last year. Or when he brought his granddaughter to the rink while he sharpened skates. All happy and fun times.
And what can you say about Bill Cahill, a former men’s assistant who went on to become the women’s program’s coach? One of the nicest, greatest guys you will ever meet. A man who never had an unkind word for anyone — even when he disagreed with a referee’s call.
It was just this past Saturday when he was showing me the renovations and the improvements to his office and his team’s lounge. He was as giddy as a boy on his first date talking about how he was so excited about the upcoming season. You could see how his team showed him respect, admiration and love. And all those around him brightened when they saw him or talked to him. Those are the things I will miss.
Over the last 12 years of broadcasting RPI games and being around the RPI athletic department, Bill Cahill taught me many things. He taught me about the game, how to love it, how to respect it and how it just kicks you in the ass sometimes. He taught me how to have some fun. He taught me many things and I am the better for it.
The hockey season will go on, but it just won’t be the same without my two friends.
