Interview with Will Friedman: Union's #1 Fan

During ECAC Championship weekend I promised Union's #1 Hockey Fan Will Friedman that I would get him an interview on my blog. Well, about three months later I have remembered.

I will first introduce Will. Will is from Scarsdale, New York and just graduated from Union in June. Some would describe Will as insane, intense, and obsessive... I think he's dedicated. I just met Will this school year when I started the blog. He was the only guy who commented on any of my posts, and I was like who is this guy? I knew Will was a big Union Hockey fan and helped out with some Garnet Blades stuff like selling the 7th Player t-shirts. He also helped promote home games on Facebook. You could always spot Will at the top of the student section at Messa Rink yelling his heart out, looking like was going to have a heart attack.

I finally met Will in the middle of this past hockey season(probably at one of his DKE parties). We talked about Union hockey and the Mets among other stuff. Once the conversation was over I thought to myself "Is this guy nuts?" I've never met anybody as intense about his team in my entire life. I thought I was intense about my teams, but Will just took it to a whole new level. I remember he once missed the majority of one of his DKE formals to go to Messa Rink, and made a video to try to sway Lebron James to come play for his beloved Knicks, which you can check out here. He even went on the Price Is Right game show and proudly wore his Union "U Gotta Believe" shirt, which you can check out here. He is no doubt the most dedicated sports fan I've ever met.

Will was the heart and soul of the student section and will truly be missed. So, finally here is the long awaited interview with Will "UnionHockeyManiac" Friedman:

DG: Did you play hockey in high school?

WF: Nope. In high school I was on the basketball and tennis teams.

DG: How long have you been a hockey fan?

WF: September 5th, 2006 - My first day at Union. I actually wasn't a big hockey fan until I came to Union.

DG: What is your favorite Union Hockey moment?

WF: Too hard to pick between beating #7 in the country Clarkson in OT my freshman year, beating RPI this season at home and moving up to #7 in the PWR, Senior Night this season vs. Quinnipiac, coming back to win the next 2 games vs. Quinnipiac after losing the 5OT game - the longest in college hockey history - to go to the ECAC Final 4 in Albany for the first time ever, and beating St. Lawrence at the Albany Times Union center to advance to the ECAC Championship.

DG: Who is your favorite Union Hockey player?

WF: Tough to say, but I'll go with (assistant captain Mike) Schreiber since I have known him the longest. To quote the Canadians on the team, they are all "beauties" though.

DG: Where is your favorite place to take in a college hockey game?

WF: Easy question. Messa Rink. The atmosphere there can be awesome when it's packed.

DG: Which college hockey team do you hate the most?

WF: RPI, for obvious reasons.

DG: Which team do you hate the most besides RPI?

WF: Cornell. I have traveled to Cornell twice to see Union play and their fans, although loud and impressive, are complete a-holes. I also don't like Cornell because they stopped us from reaching the National Tournament in my senior year.

DG: How far will the Dutchmen go in the 2010-11 season?

WF: National Tournament. They were one game away last season so the goal should be to get over that hump.

DG: What is your favorite team to root for besides Union Hockey?

WF: New York Knicks and New York Mets. I've been a die-hard fan for my whole life and I'm still looking for that first championship in my lifetime. I just missed the Mets in 1986 and the Knicks haven't won since 1973. Hopefully this is the year where things start to turn around with the Mets (they have one of the best records in baseball) and the Knicks. Hopefully they can get a few free agents to turn the team around.

DG: What else did you do on campus besides being the #1 hockey fan?

WF: I was President of Speakers Forum. My job was to pick interesting speakers to come to campus. During my three years as president, we brought in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Mike Huckabee, Howard Dean, Maya Angelou, Bob Saget, Mayor Cory Booker, Kal Penn, Richie Roberts and Frank Lucas (real guys from "American Gangster" played by Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, respectively), Manute Bol (who just recently passed away), and a few others. I also was President of Philanthropy of my fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon.

DG: Congrats on graduating by the way. What do you plan on doing now?

WF: Good question. I'm on the job hunt now, looking at possible positions with the New York Knicks, New York Mets, and some Speaking Agencies in New York City. For now though, just enjoying my free time, catching up with old friends, going to lots of Mets games, and following the NBA Free Agency very carefully.

DG: Will you come back to Schenectady to watch Union games often?

WF: Absolutely. I will try to make it up for as many home weekends as possible. Hopefully they'll still let me stand in the student section.

DG: What are you going to miss the most about Union?

WF: Everything. The people, the hockey games, the atmosphere, the parties, etc. It was the best four years of my life and I'm sad to be leaving.

DG: Will you be handing down your title of #1 fan to another Union student?

WF: Ha Ha, not in an official ceremony but I truly hope that the Union students realize how lucky we are to have one of the best college hockey teams in Division I at such a small school like Union. I hope that people took notice of how good the team was last year and that will hopefully increase the attendance for the upcoming season. The student section needs to be loud! LET'S GO UNION DA DA DADADA!!!

DG: Do you have any nicknames?

WF: Will the Thrill, One Dollah Bill, Bill, Billy, Liam, friedmaw@, and a few others I'd rather not share on here. Online, I'm known as UnionHockeyManiac, KnicksManiac, and MetsManiac. I prefer Will.

DG: Where will Lebron James be playing next season?

WF: My heart says the Knicks, but my head says the Bulls. If he doesn't come to the Knicks, I'd almost want him to stay in Cleveland rather than going anywhere else. Praying of LBJ in NYC though.