It was my distinct pleasure and honor to be able to write a profile of Eric Demers for SI.com. And I’d like to thank SI Executive Editor Adam Duerson, a good and loyal friend and the only man I’ve ever taken on in a Shamrock Shake guzzling contest (circa 2004… I won due to Adam suffering premature brain freeze at around the fourth minute…inside a McDonald’s in South Bend…we were both explicitly asked to leave the premises). This piece doesn’t happen unless Adam supports it and, as someone who got my first SI byline around 28 years ago, it was a very warm and satisfying feeling.

So, thank you, Adam.

Thinking about the SI that I first walked into on July 20, 1989, and the SI in the decades prior, versus today, I had this thought: One of the things I loved about meeting and covering Eric Demers last week wasn’t only that he and his wife (and his coaches and family, etc) were such terrific people, but also that they gave me, a print journalist, such unfettered access. I was in his condo; I was invited—it was Eric’s idea— to shoot around with him on his off day.

This can happen for an SI writer still with a Division III athlete. Back in the day this happened for SI writers with Division I All-Americans, and even with pro athletes. That is partly what made SI so untouchable back then. There were no other challengers.

The SI where I began was one that did not need to fend off the internet or even ESPN. The WWL existed by then but it wouldn’t really begin to matter until about 1992 or so. And so I am reminded of one of my favorite SI stories (and ledes), this by Curry Kirkpatrick back in 1971.

Curry was one of the more delicious and savory wordsmiths ever to grace the SI masthead. And here he is hanging out with the nation’s leading scorer, Mississippi’s Johnny Neumann, and his wife at their home. Another dude averaging over 30 a game. Except at a Division I school. Could an SI writer obtain that type of access with Marquette’s Markus Howard today? Maybe. I dunno. But I think ESPN would have a much easier time of it.