The MAAC's No. 1 Fan

Anyone who's been around MAAC basketball at any point in the past 20+ years (maybe even more) knows the name "Ronnie Weintraub."  He was often annoying, but that's only because he was so passionate.  So, when I got the news that Ronnie passed away, a flood of memories came rushing back.  Ronnie was such a unique individual whose presence will be missed.

My first interactions with Ronnie came when I was a student at Canisius and would see him at the MAAC Tournament every year.  I could tell even that early on that the "MAAC's No. 1 Fan" on his credential was extremely accurate.  Then I started working at Manhattan, which was "his" school, and saw the extent of his fandom at a completely different level.  Was dealing with him challenging at times?  Absolutely!  But everybody has their Ronnie stories, and, because I worked so closely with him for so long, I had a lot!

Ronnie's affiliation with Manhattan began sometime in the 1990s.  Manhattan hosted a Special Olympics event in which Ronnie was a participant and he struck up a friendship with then-AD Bob Byrnes.  From that point forward, Ronnie was a fixture at Manhattan games.  He'd even show up at road games (which often left us wondering how he got there), and part of his deal with Bob was that if he found his way to a road game, he was guaranteed a ride home on the team bus.  And Ronnie bus stories were some of the best ones!

There are a few Ronnie stories in particular that stand out.  He arrived shortly after the team for a game at Army.  As one of the Army players was coming into the gym and started walking to the locker room, Ronnie asked her how long until she graduated.  After she told him she was a senior, he said, "A few months, then off to Iraq."  Completely inappropriate, obviously.  But also classic Ronnie!  He had no filter!

Another time, he made his way down to Baltimore for a game at Loyola (on like a Tuesday or Wednesday night).  On the way back, it was snowing, so the trip was even longer than usual.  Our coach gave Ronnie his postgame sandwich, but it didn't agree with him.  So, for most of that bus ride, Ronnie was going back and forth to the bathroom.

Then there was the Ronnie photo bomb.  When Rick Pitino was still the head coach at Louisville, he came to see his protege, Steve Masiello.  Our play-by-play announcer, Christian Heimall, a big Louisville fan, interviewed Pitino at halftime, then asked to take a picture with him.  Pitino agreed, and when Christian's looking at the picture afterwards, there's Ronnie in the background, with his head perfectly positioned between the two of them!

Perhaps the funniest Ronnie "sighting" I've ever had came when he wasn't even there!  We were in Canada on the women's basketball team's foreign trip in 2010.  On the sidewalk in Ottawa, we see a man with his back to us who looked exactly like him from behind.  We even all started turning to each other going, "Is that Ronnie?"  It wasn't.  Obviously.  But for a minute there, we thought he'd somehow made his way to Canada for the foreign trip!

One last Ronnie story that sticks out.  The women's team would always have a postgame reception with their families and friends after their Senior Day game.  Johnny O usually gave a speech about each of the seniors.  Then it was Ronnie's turn.  It wasn't planned, of course, but Ronnie just started talking and nobody was gonna be able to make him stop!

Those are just a few of my Ronnie stories.  Everyone else who's been involved with MAAC basketball at any point over the past two decades has their own, and they're all uniquely Ronnie.  It was almost a rite of passage for any new MAAC coach to have their Ronnie initiation.  You almost weren't part of the conference until you had one.  In that way, he really became iconic throughout the league.  Everybody knew him and everybody had their own story (or two...or three...or more).

It wasn't just basketball, either.  One year, Ronnie made his way to Rider for the Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and he loved his Jaspers baseball just as much.  But it was courtside at basketball games where you could be 100 percent certain to find him.  And it was a truly one-of-a-kind experience.

If you ever sat anywhere near Ronnie (or even within earshot) during a game, you couldn't miss him sitting there doing a full play-by-play broadcast...to himself!  Then there were his handwritten stat sheets, which he would always be sure to hand to the coaches (even though they were completely illegible).  At the MAAC Tournament, he'd even print out copies and leave them on the table with all of the other media materials!

The tables in the media room at the MAAC Tournament also had another distinctly Ronnie document.  His bracket!  Ronnie would fill out his bracket for the whole tournament and leave copies right there with his stat sheets.  And, no matter the team's record, he always had Manhattan winning both the men's and women's titles!  You've gotta love that confidence, even if it wasn't always entirely realistic!  Always a fan of the Jaspers first, the MAAC second.

Eventually, after some staff changes at Manhattan, he shifted his allegiance to Saint Peter's.  But he was still Ronnie.  All of his passion and enthusiasm remained.  So did his handwritten stats and infectious personality.  It was just on the other side of the Hudson.  Instead of Jasper green, it was Peacock blue.  I can only imagine how excited he was when Saint Peter's went on that NCAA Tournament run!

I was still working at Manhattan then, so my dealings with Ronnie obviously became fewer and further between after that.  I can't even recall the last time I saw him.  But he was such a unique individual who'll be impossible for me to ever forget.  I bet that's probably the case for anybody he ever came across.  He was one-of-a-kind.  And he'll definitely be missed.