TheWaveReport.com - A Tribute to Joe Kennedy: 1984-2009

May 15, 2009

Scott Kushner
TheWaveReport.com Senior Editor

I'm sitting on my bed listening to Graff and the Wave is piling up early runs. That means it's time to call Joe Kennedy and talk National Championships and the thousands of subscribers that will follow.

But I can't.

One of my best friends and the co-owner of this site died of unknown causes early Friday morning.

Just as Joe would have wanted, the news hit me in "Waves." And of course, he would have ripped me mercilessly for writing that.

When you cover Tulane, you learn to look at silver linings. Joe and I did that a lot.

"Sure, their running game sucks but that just opens the door for Steve Barnett next year."

"When Wilson and Ledford start tearing it up, are you going to wear their jerseys to work?"

It was always ridiculous, but it always put the focus on the future.

There is no silver lining in this. No positive spin.

He didn't drink, didn't smoke, and died in his sleep at the age of 25. He leaves behind a community of friends, family and a loving girlfriend with whom he shared everything.

Not a negative word was ever uttered about him.

My friendship with Joe went well beyond the bounds of The Wave Report. We called each other three to four times per day, mostly starting the conversation with the website in mind, but always venturing into something else.

We both fantasized about figuring out a way not to work in a real office with a real boss and even pondered opening a sports agency once he got his law degree. I would do the PR, he would do the law and we'd both kick it in the skybox.

We argued about the relevancy of his beloved Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC. We laughed endlessly when former WWE broadcaster Jonathan Coachman did his first SportsCenter.

That's what Joe was all about.

When something crossed his mind, he didn't hesitate to talk with you about it. He picked up the phone and went straight into a stream of consciousness with unbridled enthusiasm.

That's how he approached everything he liked.

I met Joe in a journalism class together sophomore year at the University of Tennessee, and I knew he had something special.

After reading one story, I immediately dragged him to the office of our student paper and within 18 months he was the sports editor at The Daily Beacon. I introduced him to local sports editor John Brice and within weeks he was he was covering football games in Neyland Stadium as a key piece of the staff.

And even though Joe and I were working at competitor publications, it never once got in the way of our friendship. We never stopped playing each other in Xbox360 (where he dominated the hardcourt) or hitting up 80s cover bands.

Because that's who he was. He always looked past the drama and saw the person.

So when I received word from Rivals that the Tulane site was open, he was one of the first people I told, to ask for his advice of whether or not to take it.

And in typical Joe fashion, he didn't just tell me what to do, he wanted to do it with me. Once I realized most of recruiting is done over the phone, I named him my Associate Editor and split everything down the middle.

They say starting a business with your friends is a mistake, but I can tell you I've never made a better decision than asking Joe Kennedy to do this website with me. It gave us a great excuse to talk?constantly.

Each of our girlfriends can attest to that.

Rarely did a day go by without checking in. Whenever breaking news was in the works we might as well have been hooked in on a constant line. We had victory dances, pity parties, and lots of "awwwwesome" and "niiiiice"s back and forth.

And that's what makes this so painful.

Joe was more than a co-worker or a friend. We were the only people who understood what we were each going through.

Now he's gone, and there aren't enough words to write that can fill his place. Both in this space and in my life.

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