JaySchnei
02-22-2014, 12:45 AM
My father, Thomas Schneider, graduated from Xavier in 1968, and at 11:30 we were supposed to watch Xavier take on Georgetown at the Verizon Center with my younger brother and brother-in-law. As much as it crushes me to say, the Lord led my father to a better place early this past Thursday morning.
The reason I'm saying thank you to Xavier Nation is that Xavier Nation is what carried my father and made him happy, it also created a bond between me, him and my brother to where conversations found no end. Whether it was talking about incoming recruits, jumping off of both feet, certain posters of message boards, hatred for Dayton, the X's & O's of each game or our bigger hatred for Dayton, Xavier gave us a chance to bond and keep conversation going. Neither my brother nor I attended Xavier, (we only had huge Cincy 5-way parties when Xavier was randomly on TV against Evansville in the MCC days!) we have only been to Cincinnati twice in our lives and a third trip was supposed to happen for the Creighton game on March 1st. Last year was what was going to be the first of many father and sons trips to the Queen City. While it will be the first and only, the joy of seeing my father who hadn't been on campus in almost 15 years gloat about his alma mater, and knock back several adult beverages at Dana's made the first and only a great time.
My father cared dearly for his family, his alma mater, the Knights of Columbus and Xavier basketball. When he was in hospice on Tuesday afternoon, I told my mother that he was going to make it through Wednesday night to feel one more Xavier game on TV. When the final horn sounded on Wednesday and I hadn't received a call that the time had come, I could only smile.
Tomorrow my brother and I will be at the Verizon Center to watch Xavier mangle the Hoyas, and while my father won't be sitting in his seat, he'll be enjoying the game from the rafters. Thanks again Xavier Nation for being such a big part of my father's life. God Bless.
The reason I'm saying thank you to Xavier Nation is that Xavier Nation is what carried my father and made him happy, it also created a bond between me, him and my brother to where conversations found no end. Whether it was talking about incoming recruits, jumping off of both feet, certain posters of message boards, hatred for Dayton, the X's & O's of each game or our bigger hatred for Dayton, Xavier gave us a chance to bond and keep conversation going. Neither my brother nor I attended Xavier, (we only had huge Cincy 5-way parties when Xavier was randomly on TV against Evansville in the MCC days!) we have only been to Cincinnati twice in our lives and a third trip was supposed to happen for the Creighton game on March 1st. Last year was what was going to be the first of many father and sons trips to the Queen City. While it will be the first and only, the joy of seeing my father who hadn't been on campus in almost 15 years gloat about his alma mater, and knock back several adult beverages at Dana's made the first and only a great time.
My father cared dearly for his family, his alma mater, the Knights of Columbus and Xavier basketball. When he was in hospice on Tuesday afternoon, I told my mother that he was going to make it through Wednesday night to feel one more Xavier game on TV. When the final horn sounded on Wednesday and I hadn't received a call that the time had come, I could only smile.
Tomorrow my brother and I will be at the Verizon Center to watch Xavier mangle the Hoyas, and while my father won't be sitting in his seat, he'll be enjoying the game from the rafters. Thanks again Xavier Nation for being such a big part of my father's life. God Bless.