Stanko Strong

When the 2022 World Cup roster was announced and it was clear that Matt Turner would be the starting keeper for the U.S. National Team, an embarrassing video of Turner started making the rounds on YouTube.  It was from when he was in college at Fairfield and gave up an absolutely terrible own goal at Iona.  And every time that video played, Jon Stanko, my buddy who worked at Iona at the time, would excitedly go, "I shot that video!"

He was a student at Iona when he was the camera operator for the Matt Turner "highlight."  Stanko (who I always referred to only by last name) was then hired as a full-time member of the Athletic Department staff at Iona, and, despite working at rival schools, we were friendly colleagues always ready to help the other out for years.  Even after he left Iona to take a job at Barstool, we'd still work Iona games together.

Last year, Stanko received the horrible news no one ever wants to get.  He had cancer and it was terminal.  It was as shocking as it was devastating.  They gave him, at best, 14 months.  Unfortunately, he didn't make it that long.  A young, vibrant 32-year-old with such a zest for life has been taken from us, leaving behind a wife who he had only just married a few months ago.

Like most others, I learned of Stanko's diagnosis through his blog, Stanko's Stance.  He wanted to people to know and to tell his story his way.  Stanko was determined to beat it, no matter how improbable the odds, and document everything, including how he was feeling.  It was one of the most courageous things I've ever seen.

Here was somebody who had to be angry, upset, scared, wondering "why me?"  Someone who had every right to his privacy as he fought a losing battle for his life.  Yet Stanko did none of that.  He shared his story with the world.  Every last painful detail.  He told everyone all about his cancer journey.  The good.  The bad.  And how he really felt about all of it.  You couldn't help but admire everything about it.

Stanko isn't the first person I've known who we lost to cancer (it's how both my parents died), but he's by far the youngest.  A cruel reminder of just how devastating a disease it is.  Cancer can take anybody at any time.  And sometimes it can happen quickly.  Someone can go from engaged and looking forward to the rest of his life to gone in less than a year.  If that sounds incredibly unfair, that's because it is.

I got the news in the afternoon before attending the Rangers-Stars game later that night.  Coincidentally enough, it was Hockey Fights Cancer Night at Madison Square Garden.  Just as I thought about my parents the whole night while I was at the World Series (which was MLB's annual Stand Up to Cancer game), I spent a good portion of the hockey game thinking about Stanko.  The life he lived and the rest of it that was cut short.

There are others who knew him better.  No matter how well you knew Jon Stanko, though, your opinion of him was probably the same.  His taste in baseball teams might've been somewhat questionable (although, if you're from Connecticut, I guess there's always a chance you'll become a Red Sux fan), but his class never was.  Stanko was one of those people who nobody could say anything bad about him.

His versatility was impressive.  Our profession is one where you need to wear many hats.  His hat depended on the day.  He might be doing PA one day then producing the broadcast the next.  Doing the broadcast on air or handling social media clips.  Truly a jack of all trades!

If you think Stanko was just a sports guy, that couldn't be further from the truth.  One time I tried to make fun of Taylor Swift before he informed me that he was an unapologetic Swiftie.  He was also one of the biggest movie buffs I knew.  Before it became a personal diary of his cancer battle (and even sometimes after), his blog was full of movie reviews, rankings, Oscar predictions, etc.  And that movie selection was diverse to say the least!

It wasn't just movies, either.  He was an avid fan of The Bachelor, and the blog also included reviews of that show.  During COVID when I was home all the time and had nothing else to do, I watched the spin-off season The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart where they were all musicians.  Stanko was the one other person who I knew would be watching, so he was the recipient of any and all texts with my random thoughts about the show.

Of course, sports were also mixed in with the movies and the TV shows and the health updates.  He even had it all arranged by category.  A blog that's far more organized than this one will ever be!  In fact, simply calling it a "blog" doesn't do it justice.  It was a full-on website!  More than that, it was a slice of Jon Stanko's life that he was so willing to share.  And, with the Super Bowl and the Oscars coming up and a new season of The Bachelor starting soon, you know he would've had a lot to say about all of them!  

Above all, Jon Stanko was a friend.  I'm just one of many who had the privilege of calling him that.  Whether he considered me a friend or not, I don't know, but it really doesn't matter.  I considered him one regardless.  He was somebody I'd go help out at the last minute because I knew he'd do the same for me.  He was somebody I could have a stupid conversation about nothing via text with.

While we were very different, Jon Stanko and I were the same in a lot of ways.  Maybe that's why we got along so well!  I can only aspire to be half the man Jon Stanko was, though.  Rest in peace, my friend.  You're gone far too soon.