I come in and Raft has the corner of the bar.
As you walk in, the corner of the bar, there had to be 25 beers.
He had ordered 25 beers.
And it was just, if you came up to talk to him, just grab a beer.
That was the first time I met him.
And he is a delight.
Let me get right to the point here.
Bill Raftery is my white whale.
There is no one in the world I want to have a drink with more.
There’s no one in the world I want to meet more.
He’s that answer for me no matter the question.
He’s a living legend in the college basketball world and will always be a legend.
But, it’s the bar stories that turn Raft into a whole new level.
The man is 81 years old, still making drinking jokes on air while absolutely loving college basketball.
When he’s on the call it’s elevated instantly.
But above that, we now know he’s the ultimate bar guy.
He’s constantly looking out for his pals.
So hes wearing a long trench coat, Eagle said.
We get outside now.
And our director, who passed away, great guy, Dave Hagen.
He shows us that he snuck one beer out to the street.
And we all laugh, like, Oh, thats amazing.
Raft opens his trench coat.
He has eight beers.
That’s the sort of guy you need in your crew.
The demeanor changes when he hears last call and instantly thinks about everyone around him.
How can I keep this going?
We’ve only been here for 10 minutes, he wasn’t ready to go to bed just yet.
Ultimate good pal right there.
That’s a man who knows how to control a room.
You see Raft in the corner of the bar, you instantly head that way.
That’s how Bill Raftery lives his life and the sport is better because of it.
