Passing The Baton

Good morning Uni Watchers! I hope everyone had a good long weekend. And welcome to Uni Watch post-Paul.

I had hoped this would be my inaugural post as editor, but unfortunately there was a bit of breaking uni news yesterday afternoon.

What you see above is a photo taken this past Sunday, at Paul’s 25th and final Anniversary Party in NYC (I’ll try to have a rundown of that gathering posted soon). After the Zambonis had finished their set, Paul made a very touching speech in which he introduced me to the assembled patrons as his successor. In that speech, he both symbolically AND physically passed a green Uni Watch baton to your new editor.

That was a bit of light-heartedness in an otherwise very moving tribute…which Paul saw fit to make on HIS day. It speaks volumes of Paul’s incredible generosity both in spirit and in life. I certainly wasn’t expecting anything like that, but knowing Paul as I have for almost 20 years, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. And I’m still completely floored that we as Uni Watchers won’t have Paul at the helm of this incredible community he literally built from scratch going forward. It still doesn’t feel real.

Before I go any further, I’d like to highlight Paul’s Final Uni Watch entry. I still have some tears welling up each time I’ve read it — but even more so, reading the (currently almost 200) comments from you all has also made me realize just how strong a community we have, and it’s all thanks to one Paul Lukas. If you haven’t yet read that, please do so, and feel free to share your thoughts on Paul’s incredible journey that is Uni Watch.

I cannot begin to thank Paul enough personally and professionally, and words are even failing me now. He has not only been a role model, guru, mentor and sage, but has also been one of my best friends for well over a decade. And he’s also been the best “boss” one could EVER have. Personally, I can’t ever thank (or repay) him enough for our camaraderie and companionship — and while that will certainly continue now that he’s stepped away (deservedly so!) from this wonderful incredible community, we’ll all miss his steady, insightful hand guiding the Uni Watch ship.

Thank you Paul, for everything: for plucking me out of obscurity to become the bench coach, to Weekend Editor, to Deputy Editor, and for entrusting this ship to me as your successor…and everything in between. I love you man!

__________Now then. It’s getting a bit dusty in here.

So, you may be asking, what’s Uni Watch going to be like without Paul? I can’t answer that — at least right now. I can say this: NO ONE can ever replace him; there’s a cliché about “big shoes to fill” and “breaking the mold when they made him” and both are true. I can never do exactly what Paul did, but I’ll do my level best to continue his legacy.

Obviously there have been some changes — but as far as the content going forward, I will endeavor to keep things as they have been, or as close to it as possible. Monday through Friday, I will always have at least one morning article, as we’ve always had for the entire time Uni-Watch.com has been in existence. And as we’ve had since the site redesign a couple years back, on most days there will be multiple articles daily (usually dictated by how much uni news there is). Initially, we will have the Ticker three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), and those will be handled by our own Jamie Rathjen (Monday) and Anthony Emerson (Wednesday and Friday). Ideally, I’d like to expand that to M-F (whether that means I and new Weekend Editor Jim Vilk each take a day, or perhaps we’ll add a new Ticker-er). The site’s appearance will remain the same as well. (I too love green and gold!) Basically, I want to keep the spirit and tenor of Uni Watch the same as it’s always been, even though we’ll no longer have Paul captaining this fantastic voyage. As Paul basically gave me free rein to craft my own style over the weekends (and each August), Jim Vilk will add a new voice and perspective on the Weekends, but I do know he plans to keep some of the things I introduced (like SMUW and the annual Father’s Day “Our Dads In Uniform” retrospective, plus his own “Vilkmas” and other topics on which he and I have collaborated in the past).

As much as Uni Watch and Paul Lukas are synonymous, Paul built an incredible community from the ground up, and I have interacted (or worked) with many of you over the years to bring some pretty amazing articles to the site — you’ll notice a lot of by-lines in August or the weekends aren’t my own. That has been, and continues to be, one of the things I enjoy most: we’re ALL Uni Watchers, and so many of you have talents and abilities that are most welcome additions to the site. I’ve learned as much from you all as I have from Paul. And there are many areas and uni-related subjects in which some of you have way more knowledge than I — and I continue to welcome reader submissions and suggestions. So please…going forward…if there is any uni (or even “uni adjacent”) topic you feel would be great to share with the greater UW community, don’t hesitate to reach out! My e-mail is phil.hecken@gmail, and I look forward to hearing from you. That goes for anything — if you have a suggestion or complaint, reach out to me. We’re all in this together (to borrow a phrase from our COVID days), and I’d like nothing more than to work with the community to bring new and different perspectives to the fore. Whether it’s an idea for a column, or a uniform concept, or even something that might just be “Too Good for the Ticker,” my virtual door is always open!

So going forward, let us all continue to work and share our common bond and love for all things related to the obsessive study of athletics aesthetics and continue to build on the foundation Paul has laid. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope you are too! Let us hereby declare each May 26th going forward as “Founder’s Day.”

I promise to keep UW the great place it’s always been. And with your support, I know it will be. Together we can keep Paul’s incredible legacy going well into the future.

I hope you’ll join me for the ride. Let’s do this!