After finding out my buddy Evan passed away, I seriously considered shutting down the blog. Sure, it’s working on it’s third year of existence, but in the moments after hearing the news, I wondered if I could ever find the time to be humorous again. I feared I had become desensitized by a number of close friends passing…my closest grade school friend in a car accident on Thanksgiving a few years back, a college friend in another car accident just 3 months later, and only weeks after having his first kid, and now another friend gone too early. Heavy stuff like that makes you re-evaluate what you consider important, and if you have the drive or energy to continue in any facet.
But then I thought about Evan, and how he lived his life. If I would ever get emotional with him like I did about him yesterday, he’d probably flip me off, ask if I liked dudes or something, then go grab a half-finished 40.
I wanted to write a heartfelt remembrance of the guy, but knew that wasn’t his style. So instead, I’ll use this space as a final chance to stick it to him.
Evan was from Boston, and was your prototypical SAWX FAN WOOO GO PATS TOO! I briefly mentioned him in this post about Massholes (go to the original blogspot page to see the comment frenzy it sparked). He’d be the guy in salmon-colored shorts and a pastel Polo shirt constantly on his way to lacrosse practice. In other words, he was the complete manifestation of how Steelers fans view Patriots fans.
Our Steelers/Patriots debates were the stuff of legends. On any random Friday or Saturday night in college, with us being all groggy at 2 AM and stuff, we’d routinely get into the sports angle, and the RAs would have to come to my dorm from halfway down the building to tell us to shut the hell up. Although he ended up at tiny St. Vincent College, the summer home of the Steelers, he wanted all us “Midwestern” Steelers fans to know who the best team in football was.
And he had indisputable facts on his side. At the time, the Patriots had just won their third Super Bowl, and the Steelers had no rings since the Steel Curtain years. Much like how many Steelers fans today point to the unprecedented 6 rings in franchise history, Evan could point to his team’s recent championships as a way to shut me up.
So in honor of his life I had to post the above picture of Evan in Steelers gear. It was Halloween about 4 or 5 years ago, and since he didn’t have a costume ready, Ev decided to grab my Hines Ward jersey and my buddy Bob’s Steelers pants. They were either Greg Lloyd’s, or were from one of the seasons that Greg Lloyd played for the team. And just so people knew he was playing around, he threw on a Red Sox hat and a handmade sign saying “Wishing I Was A Patriot.”
Sign or no sign, a die-hard Patriots fan was caught in complete Steelers gear…something a Steelers fan would never do with Patriots merchandise. Evan would rag on me just as much if he was still here and found any picture of me repping his team.
And yes, that’s another of my friends in blackface (backbody?), and all the black guys found it hilarious, so don’t give me your self-righteous b.s.
Evan, I’m going to miss you more than you could ever imagine, but I wouldn’t be honoring my Steelers > Patriots duty if I didn’t call you out for wearing Steelers gear. And when my Steelers win their third ring of this era, I’ll be pointing to the heavens to let you know we’re even.
RIP Evan Chateauneuf. Love you, buddy.
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