Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1466176
4 MAY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED L ooking back one year ago, I real- ize now that the passing of my esteemed Blue & Gold Illustrated editor and dear friend Lou Somogyi took much longer for me to accept than what I realized at the time. I shared many tributes from others after he passed and some personal stories from the 16 years I spent working alongside this journalistic icon until a heart attack took his life on April 17, 2021. But even during and after Lou's beautiful funeral mass inside the Basil- ica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame, or when this friend-to-all reached his final resting place at nearby Highland Cemetery, I still didn't fully grasp what was happening. Lou's death came so suddenly and unexpectedly, his passing didn't seem possible. The reality hit like a truck about two weeks after Lou's funeral when his chair sat empty inside the Notre Dame football press box for the 2021 Blue-Gold Game. He was a fixture at every Fighting Irish home football game, real or exhibi- tion, for more than 40 years, and to see his seat left unoccupied finally affirmed that he was gone. In a heartfelt tribute, the folks at Notre Dame that day displayed Lou's game credential, a framed photo, a silver pen, a spring game roster and a black ro- sary in the spot Lou would no longer fill. Louis "Lou" Somogyi Jr. died at age 58 after playing tennis. And while his presence and kindness are forever gone, his legacy and memory remain healthy and strong. Whether he was helping local el- derly run basic errands, celebrating his heritage by playing the organ for early- morning masses at Our Lady of Hungary Church or simply providing a sounding board for rabid Fighting Irish fans to vent after a tough loss, Lou had a patient and caring nature that defined his char- acter better than the "encycLoupedic" knowledge of Notre Dame football he was most recognized for. And of all the amazing anecdotes and memories readers and friends of Lou shared upon his passing, one still stands out from when he played the organ at a Hungarian funeral mass with the priest, an alter boy, the deceased and Lou as the only four attendees. "What did you do?" A friend asked Lou after the service. "I played the best I have ever played in my life," Lou responded. KEEPING THE COURSE While trying to find our footing — and in some respects, attempting to reinvent our product after this passing — this last year was challenging both profession- ally and personally for the entire Blue & Gold Illustrated family. Routinely working 60 hours, 70 hours, even 80 hours a week, Lou was never fazed because covering Notre Dame ath- letics is all he ever wanted to do. And since Lou made his craft look so easy and never complained, we didn't fully appreciate the breadth of his con- tributions until they were gone. From copy editing, to page layout, to headline writing, to breaking news, to daily beat work, Lou had a hand in every step of the publishing process, and it took the entire BGI team an entire year- long magazine cycle to grasp, divvy and absorb his workload as best it could. And while his death marked the end of a 37-year run that turned a little-known niche startup magazine into "America's Foremost Authority On Notre Dame Football," the lessons he taught and the legacy he left pro- vided a sturdy foundation to build upon for a new generation of talented BGI beat writers who are making Lou proud during this new era of Notre Dame football. BGI publisher Stu Coman built his long and successful career follow- ing many principles, including no employee is irreplaceable, but their goal should be to make themselves hard to replace. He later admitted to an exception. "I changed that statement after work- ing with Lou," Coman shared. "Now I say, 'Almost everyone is replaceable.' Lou was the rare talent that cannot be replaced." Lou is survived by his wife, true love and soulmate Amalia; stepchildren Mike Vegh, Jennifer and Brandon Thomas, and Kimberly Vegh; step-granddaughter No- elle Thomas; his little spoiled fluffy white dog Belle, and a legion of faithful readers and followers who considered Somogyi a dear friend, even though many had never met this remarkable man in person. In memory and tribute of our fallen colleague and friend, Blue & Gold Illus- trated and BlueandGold.com established The Lou Somogyi Memorial Scholarship fund to help South Bend area students fulfill their dream of transferring from Holy Cross College to Notre Dame in the same way Lou did almost 40 years ago. To date, more than $120,000 has been contributed to the scholarship. Visit bluegoldonline.com /lou-somogyi / for more details. ✦ At the time of his death in April 2021, Somogyi had covered Notre Dame football for Blue & Gold Illustrated for 37 years. He left behind a legacy as the most knowledgeable writer on the Fighting Irish beat as well as the most caring and patient individual one could ever hope to meet in South Bend or any other community. PHOTO COURTESY JOHN POINSATTE Void Still Felt One Year After Lou Somogyi's Unexpected Passing UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com