Tag: sister jean

104-year-old Sister Jean had the best view of Loyola-Chicago’s upset over No. 21 Dayton

Sister Jean was on the baseline for the Ramblers’ biggest win since 2021

It’s just not March Madness without Sister Jean.

The now 104-year-old superfan and official team chaplain of the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers has become a fixture of the sport ever since LUC made a Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2018.

So it was such a delight to fans everywhere to see her court-side again for the team’s first game of March at Gentile Arena. It was a particularly massive game, too, as No. 21 Dayton arrived in Chicago as a 1.5-point road favorite, only for the Ramblers to pull off the 77-72 upset.

You just can’t even begin to doubt the power of a Sister Jean pep talk in the huddle.

It’s the Ramblers’ first victory over a ranked opponent since 2021 and a perfect way to kick off the most important month in the sport. If this is the start of another miracle run for Loyola, don’t forget who was there to help kick it all off.

Sister Jean looked so adorable flying to catch Loyola-Chicago’s opening round A10 game

Sister Jean wouldn’t miss this for the world!

It being March means that one of everyone’s favorite NCAA Tournament characters, Sister Jean, is back in the spotlight.

As the Loyola-Chicago Men got set to take on Saint Joseph’s Hawks in the opening round of the Atlantic-10 tournament, their usual special guest had to find a way to make it to the game. Even with it being a down year for the 10-21 Ramblers, there was clearly just no way Sister Jean would miss this affair.

So, before the proceedings, Sister took a comfortable private plane. Predictably, she looked so happy about the opportunity to see her school compete in March again.

Aww. We can talk about the buzzer-beaters and ridiculous finishes, but I, for one, appreciate cherished moments like this. People like Sister Jean, who enjoy college basketball, love their school, and want to do anything to support it.

Loyola-Chicago would go on to 72-67. But I don’t think the score really mattered here.

Sister Jean surprisingly picked a non-Chicago team to win the NCAA men’s national title

Now that’s a surprising pick from Sister Jean.

Sister Jean remains one of the most beloved figures of the college basketball world, and she’s made a fascinating pick for the NCAA men’s tournament this spring.

While promoting her new memoir Wake Up With Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years, the 103-year-old Loyola men’s basketball chaplin shared a lot of great insight about her life in an interview with Good Morning America. 

However, Sister Jean also predicted an unexpected team to win the title for men’s basketball this season. While she’s always a Ramblers fan deep down, she’s guessing that Kentucky will win March Madness. Now that’s a stunner.

While the Wildcats struggled to start the hoops season, the team has rebounded and is third in the SEC standings as of Monday night. Kentucky has won four-straight games and should get a decent seed in the bracket in March.

The team now has one of the sharpest minds in the sport picking them, too. That’s got to feel good for the folks in Lexington. Sister Jean is on your side.

Porter Moser reportedly high on list to replace Brey at Notre Dame

Would you like this hire?

With a month to go in the season, the task of filling the retiring [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s job as Notre Dame coach isn’t urgent yet. However, one name already appears to be emerging as a front-runner. According to the Twitter handle Coaching Changes, Oklahoma coach Porter Moser is interested in the job, and Notre Dame reportedly is interested in return:

Moser, in his second season with the Sooners, is no stranger to coaching at a Division I Catholic university. He spent 10 seasons at Loyola-Chicago, leading the program to a surprising Final Four run in 2018 and helping make Sister Jean a household name. His background alone has to have made him a candidate for at least some Irish fans. He is for us.

Before you get too excited though, Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune rightfully points out that Moser pulling up stakes would be costly for the Sooners. Still, Moser failing to replicate the success he had in Chicago thus far could give them cause to bite the bullet:

So basically, we have a long way to go before the Irish name Brey’s successor. Until then, we will continue to speculate. Don’t you just love coaching rumors a week into February?

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

MLB fans loved seeing 103-year-old Sister Jean throw out the first pitch at a Cubs game

Sister Jean forever!

No one loves Chicago sports more than Sister Jean.

The 103-year-old chaplain is mostly well known for her loyalty to Loyola University during March Madness season, but she is as big of a Chicago sports icon as they come. On Tuesday, ahead of the Chicago Cubs versus Philadelphia Phillies matchup, Sister Jean was given the honor of throwing out the first pitch before the contest began.

This isn’t the first time Sister Jean has thrown out a first pitch for the Cubs either, as she did so before in 2018 at age 99! It’s not often someone gets to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game with such pomp and circumstance, let alone do so twice!

The Cubs showered Sister Jean with all the love after her ceremonial first pitch.

The baseball world absolutely loved seeing Sister Jean once again at a Chicago sporting event.

5 things we learned on Day 2 of the NCAA tournament Round of 64

Sister Jean got sent home early.

The first round of the 2022 NCAA men’s tournament is in the books and while Day 2 delivered fewer big upsets than Day 1, it wasn’t without drama. No. 4 Illinois trailed for all but a few seconds of its game against No. 13 Chattanooga before somehow finding a way to pull it out in the end.

And a couple of lower seeds did actually pull off wins Friday, including 11-seed Notre Dame over 6-seed Alabama, 11-seed Iowa State over 6-seed LSU and 10-seed Miami over 7-seed USC. No. 7 Michigan State survived No. 10 Davidson by one point, setting up one last meeting between Tom Izzo and Mike Krzyzewski. And Sister Jean’s squad made its tourney debut, albeit a short one this time around.

Here’s a deeper look into all of that and more of what we learned on Day 2 of the tournament.

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Sister Jean is back at March Madness rooting for Loyola again and everyone was so excited to see her

Sister Jean is back and our hearts are warm.

There are very few people out there who can legitimately claim to be super fans of whatever it is they root for.

Sister Jean is absolutely one of those people. The 102-year-old chaplain captured the hearts of college basketball fans everywhere four years ago when she showed up in the crowd rooting for Loyola during their March Madness run.

Four years later, she’s still here. And not only is she rooting for the Ramblers in their tournament debut, but she also led the pregame huddle for them as well.

Sister Jean said a prayer for her guys before the game started and wished them luck.

What a moment. Sister really had a scouting report ready in her prayer with those boys.

“Good, gracious God. We need your help today. But I know we can beat those Buckeyes. I noticed as they practiced out there, they make a lot of attempts at 3’s. Somebody has to be under the basket each time so we can rush down, do a break and get the ball into the basket.” 

Listen. Are we sure it’s Sister Jean and not coach Jean? Because it sounds to me like she’s giving the Ramblers a little bit of game.

That’s some pretty amazing stuff. And it’s great that at 102 years old, Jean still comes to the games to cheer her favorite squad on. That’s real fandom right there. We can all appreciate that.

College basketball fans absolutely loved this.

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Watch: Notre Dame has final Mass before NCAA Tournament

The Irish gathered before beginning their March Madness run.

Loyola-Chicago is back in the NCAA Tournament, which means more attention will be showered on the beloved Sister Jean. However, Notre Dame has its own spiritual leader accompanying it on its own tournament journey. The Rev. Peter McCormick, the Irish’s team chaplain, has long been associated with the program. With the program’s first March Madness in five years upon it, it only made sense for the Irish to celebrate one final Mass before taking the court in the single-elimination tournament:

Catholics who attend Mass regularly will notice that this one is taking place in a simple setting with chairs and a little table. Despite this, none of it matters as long as the message gets across. Plus, the Irish are lucky to have this opportunity to worship at a time when there is a great humanitarian crisis happening overseas. There are people out there who have nowhere to go and gladly would take this setting.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Five things to know about Ohio State basketball’s opponent in the NCAA Tournament, Loyola-Chicago

Get to know more about the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers as Ohio State prepares to meet them in the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State is going dancing, though it feels more like a backward shuffle than a ballroom celebration. The Buckeyes received a No. 7 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament and will face those media darlings, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers.

The Ramblers went on an improbable Final Four run in 2018, then got themselves a couple of more wins to reach the Sweet 16 in last year’s tournament. Now, they are back to try to make some noise again, but this time against YOUR Ohio State Buckeyes.

We know you get this program somewhat from when Sister Jean and crew showed up on your television set or streaming device in 2018 and again in 2021, but this year’s team is a little different. So, we thought it’d be worthwhile to give you some insight on this ballclub that OSU is going to face, one that will no doubt be a hard out for Ohio State if it has any plans on advancing.

Here are five things to know about Loyola-Chicago as we get ready for the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Loyola Chicago coach Drew Valentine was pumped to have Sister Jean back for March Madness

She’s back!

Back during Loyola Chicago’s Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2018, Sister Jean became one of the most beloved characters of the entire tournament. Well, the Ramblers will be dancing once again after their Sunday win in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship over Drake, and the 102-year-old Sister Jean will be joining them.

Nobody was more excited about that than first-year head coach Drew Valentine.

Valentine was an assistant coach on that Final Four team and took over this season following Porter Moser’s departure to Oklahoma. So, he is well aware of the aura around Sister Jean, and when it was his turn to cut down the nets in St. Louis, he gave a special shoutout to Loyola Chicago’s biggest supporter.

He held up a piece of the net and shouted, “For Sister Jean!”

At 102 years old, health is always at the forefront when it comes to travel decisions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the NCAA Tournament’s closed bubble in Indianapolis presented obstacles, but Sister Jean did ultimately make the trip. This year, she is feeling healthy, according to The Chicago Tribune, and ready to experience another Loyola Chicago appearance in March Madness.

That’s great news because the tourney is always fun when Sister Jean is involved.

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