Posted by chicagomedia.org on April 23, 2009 at 07:18:28:
As Bulls storm, we will miss Norm Van Lier
April 23, 2009
BY DAN MCNEIL | Chicago Sun-Times
As Bulls fans eagerly anticipate Game 3 tonight against the defending champion Celtics, I can't help but think about a face and voice that are noticeably absent.
God, I miss our departed friend Norm Van Lier. I miss his spirited analysis of Bulls games on Comcast SportsNet, his warm embrace and infectious cackle.
I would have enjoyed hearing Stormin's take on why the Bulls failed to bring home a 2-0 lead in the series. It's likely Norm would have tipped his cap to Ben Gordon for his offense Monday in a 118-115 loss in Boston.
Conversely, Van Lier would have grabbed the Bulls sharpshooter by the shirt collar and said, ''Straighten up and speak,'' if he'd heard Gordon mumbling responses on Marc Silverman's ESPN 1000 radio program Wednesday morning.
For sure, the fiery Van Lier would have admonished the Bulls for the 118 points allowed.
Van Lier earned NBA checks for 10 years because he was a hard-nosed, ''I'll beat you to the floor for a loose ball,'' gritty SOB. He would tell you it was his salty disposition that paved the way to three all-defensive first-team selections.
''Attitude'' was his credo. In his postgame breakdown, the Moving Van would have fumed over the Bulls' lack of it Monday.
He would have scolded his beloved Bulls for not pressing their feet on the throat of Rajon Rondo, who awkwardly twisted his ankle when he crashed to the floor late in the second quarter. Rondo returned to post a triple-double with 19 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds.
The Celtics shot 49 percent from the field. They buried 44 percent of their three-point attempts. That wouldn't have agreed with Norm.
All has been quiet, at least publicly, on why Van Lier died, at 61, in late February. Nothing has been said or written about whether his relatively recent heart trouble was responsible. Nothing on toxicology results.
My wish is one of eternal peace for him. It has been suggested by members of the broadcast and print media that Norm was unhappy, perhaps even clinically depressed.
There's no denying Van Lier sometimes carried a chip on his shoulder. He grew up in the hardened Pittsburgh area where people ask no quarter and take no quarter. He didn't suffer fools gladly. He didn't couch anything.
Van Lier had every right to be chafed by the Bulls' excluding him from the guest list when the team paid tribute to Johnny ''Red'' Kerr on Feb. 10. It was a dumb move by the Bulls, whose fans always were greeted warmly by Van Lier at appearances, on the streets or in a gin mill. He treated people with respect, and the Bulls gave him none that evening.
Norm liked to party. A lot. That ''Good Time Charlie'' persona sometimes was misperceived.
He had no problem telling me on the radio about the days when he tested the boundaries in the 1970s, retreating to a Wisconsin cottage after the season to ''eat mushrooms and listen to the Stones.''
He was a '60s kid, and he didn't apologize for it. He shouldn't have.
Michael Jordan excepted, no player in franchise history was more universally liked than Van Lier. And he appreciated it. He received adulation well and reciprocated with a genuine willingness to engage Chicago fans in conversation. And a beverage.
It was appropriate his wake and memorial service at Fourth Presbyterian Church downtown was open to the public. They lined up by the hundreds in brutally cold weather to pay their respects to one of Chicago's favorite sons.
Why? Because Norm was ours.
If they watch basketball in heaven, it's my hope the Bulls put a hand in the face of Celtics bombers Rondo and Ray Allen, who canned a monster three-pointer Monday with two seconds remaining to tie the series.
It would bring a smile to Van Lier's face if the Bulls would skin their elbows and knees. If they would play with attitude.
I miss Norm's attitude. I miss him on my television monitor and on the bar stool next to me.
Cheers, buddy.