John Sullivan, SJU Senior
For the guys at Johnniefootball.com, the weekly Johnnie game simply doesn’t give them their fill of SJU football.
Michael “DustySJU” Wagner lives, breathes and would eat, if possible, Johnnie football. He wanted to take it one more step, so he undertook the duty of creating the Johnnies’ unofficial Web site.
Wagner had been dreaming of a Web site for St. John’s football for the past few years. It didn’t become a realistic idea until last year when he tossed the idea around at St. John’s own Stiftungsfestivities, the unofficial tailgate party for Johnnie alumni and fans. He immediately received favorable feedback from his friends and Johnnie fans.
Wagner knew Mount Union (Ohio) had an unofficial Web site, and it didn’t sit well with him that the Johnnie football didn’t have a site.
“There is so much beauty on these campuses, and we can’t see it on the Web sites,” Wagner said. “I feel so blessed and fortunate to be associated with a team so rich in tradition as St. John’s.
“I felt we deserved a better site.”
This summer, Wagner gathered a gang of writers together, assigned story topics and the following week, Johnnie Nation was introduced to the unofficial Web site to Johnnie football.
Harry “finsleft” Burns, a witty lawyer from St. Cloud, has savored every moment of the inaugural site.
“The three hours between 1-4 p.m. on Saturday afternoons sometimes just isn’t enough.” Burns said. “Johnnie football has always been a means for me to stay connected with SJU, and this Web site is now a vehicle for me to stay connected with SJU football.
“The chance to come back to SJU, or follow the team on the road, also gives us the chance to stay in touch with other alums, friends and students who share our passion.”
The writers for Johnniefootball.com aren’t journalists, but they are Johnnie football fanatics. All but one of them are Johnnie graduates, a few are lawyers, one’s a district court judge, and one’s an analytical chemist.
The writers use their screen names from d3football.com when they post articles on the site. The screen names won’t win any awards for creativity but aliases like sjusection105, retiredoldrat and DuffMan provide a little laugh.
“It has taken a lot of work,” Wagner said. “We have had great dedication from all our writers. We have had new postings every day so far.
“There is no way I could have pulled this off myself.”
The alias Johnnie Red might not ring a bell, but if you saw Mike “Johnnie Red” Fahey you would definitely recognize him. Fahey — the Alex Kofoed of fans — is the best at what he does. He cheers louder than John Cloeter hits, and he dominates the grill at the Stiftungsfestivities more than Nick Gunderson dominates a triple team.
Fahey and the rest of the crew at Johnniefootball.com host the Stiftungsfestivities at every home game and most away games. It is hosted in the science parking lot No. 1, behind the scoreboard. The Johnnies Alumni Association donated a grill this past year to accommodate the large amount of hamburgers cooked each Saturday. The tailgate is open to all because, to the cast and crew at Johnniefootball.com, that’s what Johnnie football is all about.
John Sullivan is a senior sports writer for The Record, CSB/SJU’s award-winning college newspaper
