Paul here. As I’ve mentioned several times in recent months, Uni Watch web developer John Ekdahl, who’s been my longtime business partner and site co-owner, has been battling a chronic illness. His condition recently took a turn for the worse, and he died on Wednesday. He was 47.
John kept a very low profile here on Uni Watch, but it’s no exaggeration to say that the Uni Watch blog wouldn’t exist if not for him. It was John, who at the time was a reader of my ESPN column, who approached me 20 years ago with the idea for a daily Uni Watch blog. I had no idea how to create a website from scratch, but John did, so he built the site, which launched on May 17, 2006.
In the nearly 20 years since then, we’ve worked closely together and John has kept the site running smoothly, dealing with assorted tech issues, updating the software, and generally doing all the under-the-hood stuff that I wouldn’t have known how to do on my own. He was the prime mover behind the site’s 2022 redesign and the launch of the Uni Watch Plus subscription program, and he also set up the infrastructure for the Unified podcast that Chris Creamer and I did in 2021. On the administrative side, John set up our LLC and filed our taxes every year. Basically, I got to do all the fun, creative stuff, but none of that would have been possible if not for John doing all the un-fun stuff behind the scenes.
More importantly, John was a loyal friend, a sharp wit, and a great guy. He’ll be sorely missed.
John lived in Florida with his wife and their two kids. The last time I saw him in person was in 2013, when he convinced me to come down and join him for the Daytona 500, but we were constantly in touch, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the reality that he’s now gone. My heart goes out to him and his family. R.I.P.
(Update: I’ve just been made aware that a GoFundMe has been set up to help support John’s family.)
Thanks, and please keep John’s family in your thoughts. Peace. — Paul