Weber receives Fan Appreciation honor
- emurphy1382
- Jan 2
- 2 min read
One of the traditions of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament is recognizing a person who has been attending the tournament for quite many years.
The Fan Appreciation Award recipient this year is Roger Weber. He was recognized at halftime of the Pontiac-Lockport game on the tournament’s first night.
Weber sad he has been attending games at the holiday tournament since he was 12 years old, dating back to 1962 when it was held at the Armory.
“I was hooked and continued coming every year after,” Weber told PHT Director John Neisler. “I purchased my first set of season tickets probably when I was in my 20s.”
That first tournament saw Lockport win its first title. Weber was also around witness to the Indians winning it all in 1974. This year he saw Benet Academy garner its first tournament title.
Weber was also able to see his son, Matt, play in the tournament. One of his fondest memories is seeing Matt Weber’s Indians beat Oak Park-River Forest in the opening round of the 2005 tournament. This fed the Tribe into a quarterfinal matchup with Chicago (Simeon) and all-American Derrick Rose.
“That was such a neat thing to witness,” Weber said.
Weber worked at RR Donnelley’s in Dwight for 44 years before retiring. In making time to attend the tournament, Weber has been at work as one of the voters for the all-tournament team.
“I love to watch basketball and all the talent that the tournament brings,” Weber said. “The holiday tournament has become a yearly tradition for me and my family. I enjoy taking my grandkids — Liam, Brooks and Finley — as well as my son-in-law Adam (Lawrence) to the tournament and watching the joy it brings them to be there with me.”
Weber is the 53rd recipient of the Fan Appreciation Award, which started in 1987.