One of you asked me for this, and I thought this was the easiest way. This is a copy of what I worked off of yesterday. It's not exactly what I ended up saying, but very close.
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My first year at Michigan State, I hardly knew anyone at first. But quickly, the group of guys on my floor, 3B, formed the core of what has become some of my closest friends. I think of them as my unofficial fraternity brothers, and Andy is one of these brothers.
Ever since Tuesday, everyone in 3B has been exchanging stories and thoughts about Andy, sharing some of our best memories. Fun times such as when we would all sit around and play videogames, or all head outside and play football. Funny things like Andy riding his minibike through the 3rd floor hallways of Landon, trying not to crash into walls or people.
In 2003, five of us packed ourselves into a fairly small car and drove all the way to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. We decided it would be a good idea to drive straight through, there and back, and only spend about a day and a half actually in Texas. This meant that we spent more time in the car than we did in San Antonio. The other downside of this was that myself and our friend Burly were both quite overweight at the time, and when we were both in the backseat, we had to put the skinniest kid in the middle. So poor Andy ended up spending most of that trip sandwiched between two fat guys in the back of this small car. I think he could hardly even breath most of the time. And we lost the game by something like 45 points.
Andy also dominated most of us whenever we played fantasy sports. No matter what, he always seemed to have a great team. I was so excited and proud last fall when my team narrowly squeaked out a victory against Andy that I decided to call him and kinda rub it in. Well for the first 10 minutes or so of us talking, it was basically me rubbing it in that I had won. I was really giving it to him good. And then, when I was finally done, I said "So what are you up to?" Andy says "Oh, I'm just on my way to radiation." Here I am, giving Andy all this crap, and hes on his way to radiation! I felt horrible! I think he could instantly tell I felt bad, and he was able to turn that around on me and give it right back to me. We ended up talking for about 45 minutes, most of it trash talk one way or the other. And Andy got the last laugh, cause just a few weeks ago he finished the season in 3rd place while I finished down in 7th.
Last year, another of our 3B brothers, Eric, got married. His bachelor party was in Los Vegas, and while I was not there, I've heard the stories and it really was a trip that you wouldn't want to miss. It was evidently such a great trip that there isn't actually any story that I can repeat here... but what I can say is that Andy being on that trip made it even more special for everyone. He was in obvious discomfort, but was out there having fun with his good friends. Just him being there showed everyone how much he cared, and it created memories for everyone that will be special for the rest of their lives.
I think any one of us could get up and share fun stories for another 30 minutes. I'll just say that Andy meant so much to all of us. I speak for everyone in 3B when I say that Andy is our brother forever. Andy, We love you, we miss you, and someday we'll see you again.
