Spring transition. 2004. I am standing among a cheering press. They scream as I choke down a full Guinness, freshly poured from a chilled can delivered to my lips via an old shoe. 
The gag reflex is powerful. Guinness is not a chugging beer.
The old adage says judge not a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. By some level of dilution I, and many others, felt 16 or so ounces of kinship to Bob Heisler. His courage guided The Daily Orange to independence. A decision many around him thought might one day ruin the institution they love. Not just then, but decades later. 
It wasn’t universally popular, and he couldn’t see the future, but he made a choice. He was right.
His call colored the fearless attitude of the institution and the people who populated it long after he left. 
That matters. His shoe matters. 
Bob might no longer be with us, but his legacy is, and I am proud to be a part of it.
Justin Young
Daily Orange editor in chief 2005