This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Edward Sweeney (Dad, Sweens, Ed, Edward, Uncle Ed, Coach), 67, born on April 27, 1949 and passed away on January 28, 2017. Although his absence hurts and he is so dearly missed, we will be forever comforted and warmed by his spirit.
Memorial Service
Friday, Februrary 10 10:30 AM
Our Lady of Victory Parish
2 Floral Parkway
Floral Park, NY
Open House after the service
Michael and Irene Sweeney's home
4 Pinewood Dr.
Old Westbury, NY
"Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into life eternal. Let this daring faith, this great invincible surmise, be your sustaining power during these trying days."
Martin Luther King Jr., Eulogy
Tributes
Leave a tributeLook for signs. He is with you always.
Love you so much,
Mom
Leave a Tribute
Willow Hope
We've already done a few things to help Willow know him, and remember him. The most memorable was over Thanksgiving break. The entire family, and both babies, all went to Delaware to stay at my Mom's place in Bethany Beach. On that trip, we finally got the chance to sprinkle some of my Dad's ashes along the beach - something we've been wanting to do for a long time. It was in Lewes, at the beach he used to frequent. He'd go there to chat up the locals, to assess the waves. But mostly, he'd go there to fish. Willow was there and even if she might not remember it, I will, and we have the pictures to show her someday. We left my Dad a bottle of Coors Light to keep him warm.
The past two nights, Dan and I have drank Coors Lights, eaten Texas Roadhouse, and written on this site, done all the small things that have become tradition every year on the dates of his passing and his birthday. It never gets old. Someday soon, we'll be able to do the same things and include Willow in them, and I can't wait.
New Beginnings
At our wedding last August, there were certainly moments where I wished my Dad had been there, like when I saw his sign tied to the empty seat in the front row or when the music started and we needed someone on the dance floor to get the night going. He would've had so much fun. But I feel his presence even more now because we have a baby on the way.
My Dad did so much for us when we were growing up. He worked so hard, splitting time between family and his job, the type of job that required him to be always on, all the time. I understood that even at a young age. And yet, he always found time to make us chocolate chip pancakes or take us to church or sit down to watch a game with us or drop us off at friend's houses. In the best of times, he spoiled us, played jokes on us, made us laugh and smile. Later on, living with him in Baltimore, my Dad and I became best friends, too.
Now as Dan and I get closer to the birth of our baby girl this August, I wish even more that my Dad could be around to meet her and share this moment with us. I know he is watching down over us, and I can't wait to share stories of him with our daughter as she grows up. He taught me so many lessons. I just hope I can live up to them all. Happy Father's Day, Dad!
A Football Life
Growing up, I never knew if my Dad was disappointed I wasn't playing football. Everyone else was. I can't say how many times I've gotten the question from people I've worked with, people I've gone to school with. Wait, your Dad coached college football for more than three decades and you didn't play? They'd stare at me with this incredulous look, just utter confusion. My explanation was always that playing football meant I couldn't be playing basketball, and if I was planning to play basketball every month of every year, well, that just didn't leave much time for anything else. Looking back, I'll always say I wish I'd given football a real try. I was around the game enough. I knew the sport, could speak on the game in a way that only the son of a football coach could. Who knows what might've happened had I tried? Even though my Dad always supported me, some small part of me thinks he secretly wished I'd played. That was his game and it could've been mine, too.
Over the years, not much changed. Even in my career, my basketball connection took me to different cities, different jobs, different industries. But in early 2022, I got the news that I'd be helping lead a unique team tasked with launching football for New Balance. That team spent the better part of a year leading up to that launch, and on April 27, we were in Kansas City for the NFL Draft, hosting an event on the ground and releasing our very first apparel collection alongside Chase Young, a star defensive end for the Washington Commanders. It was an amazing feeling, an accomplishment that still hasn't hit home yet. How much work went into it. How much frustration. How many hours. How many phone calls. I only wished I could've shared it with the one man I know would've appreciated it. My Dad.
I'm convinced this all happened for a reason, how my career has seemingly come full circle, taking me back to the place it all started. And even if he isn't here anymore with me, he's still here, somewhere, and we finally have something in football that we can share together. Love you, Dad! Hope the birthday was filled with Coors Light and some time by the beach!