RIP, Igor ...

[cto]

One of the true characters/legends in the history of Syracusefan.com.

Igor could be a curmudgeon, he could get people angry, he could cause the admins to throw up their hands. But no one could doubt his love for SU basketball. He suffered a severe stroke a few years ago and stopped posting. I, for one, missed him.

He will always be remembered here by the annual Iggy Awards for basketball predictions.

Warren Bonnell Obituary (2022) - Skaneateles, NY - Syracuse Post Standard

View Warren "Moose" Bonnell's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

obits.syracuse.com

 

[Frozen]

RIP

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

***

RIP, IGGY

 

[OrangeXtreme]

He's teaching the Tavern League Zone in Heaven.

 

[Orangezoo]

RIP

 

[rrlbees]

I got to know Moose very well. Sometimes golfing together but mostly from attending many many basketball practices together. Always sitting in a couple of folding chairs courtside in Manley. He loved watching practice especially new players. He always walked in like he owned the place and saying hello to everyone. He was always polite and a gentleman. Nothing like the persona he displayed on the board that grated many people.

RIP buddy.

 

[samspann1]

One of my favorites.

RIP, Igor.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Igor made the final four of Syracuse posters 13 out of 18 years in the ESPN era.

Would have been 15 but he got Boeheimed a couple times.

RIP to a legend.

 

[tee1222]

Rest In Peace, Igor.

 

[Timonen]

Oh this is terrible to read. It’s been a while but tons of memories even though we never met. A vocalist and pianist. Would not have guessed that but absolutely love that I know it.

 

[Toga]

 

[stlorange]

RIP Iggy! What memories! One of the great (and lovable) characters on this board.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

One of the true characters in the history of Syracusefan.com. Igor could be a curmudgeon, he could get people angry, he could cause the admins to throw up their arms. But no one could doubt his love for SU basketball. He suffered a severe stroke a few years ago and stopped posting. I, for one, missed him.

He will always be remembered here by the annual Iggy Awards for basketball predictions.

Warren Bonnell Obituary (2022) - Skaneateles, NY - Syracuse Post Standard

View Warren "Moose" Bonnell's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

obits.syracuse.com

So sad to hear. His posts were legendary and always true to his form. The IGGY committee will always fondly remember him. And when we started it over fourteen years ago, at first he found it insulting and felt that we were "mocking" him. But by year two or three he warmed up to it and accepted the honor of being named for it.

Those who weren't around in the "golden age" might not understand his passion. He was a lover and a hater but bled Orange through and through.

I never knew he was a fellow Oswego grad but it makes sense. Condolences to his friends and family. You were one of a kind. Rest in Peace.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

A very longtime and legendary poster of many handles, I never stopped thinking of him by his AOL name in the 1990’s. RIP WBonn123

 

[HOFCeluck]

I remember him terrorizing the old Syr.com message boards back in 1999. He was frustrating as hell sometimes, but he was a real fan that was never in doubt.

RIP absolute legend.

 

[kcsu]

HOF now hes hanging with Cali

 

[br801]

I thought the 2003 National Championship would be the pinnacle of my SU fandom, but that came later when I finally captured an Iggy.

RIP, Igor. Thanks for always making it interesting.

 

[Ragman2000]

Really sad, condolences to those that knew him outside of the board. Rest in peace to the Legend.

 

[sutomcat]

One of the true characters in the history of Syracusefan.com. Igor could be a curmudgeon, he could get people angry, he could cause the admins to throw up their arms. But no one could doubt his love for SU basketball. He suffered a severe stroke a few years ago and stopped posting. I, for one, missed him.

He will always be remembered here by the annual Iggy Awards for basketball predictions.

Warren Bonnell Obituary (2022) - Skaneateles, NY - Syracuse Post Standard

View Warren "Moose" Bonnell's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

obits.syracuse.com

Had a chance to meet Moose a number of times and even played golf with him a couple of times.

As Bees said, he was very different in person than on the board. Wonderful man, very pleasant and engaging.

As bombastic and caustic as he could be, there were valid insights and thoughts to most of his posts. Except maybe for some that was made to make some angry. No doubt he posted some outrageous stuff just to see the reactions.

I have met some many from this board in real life. Most seem to have the same personality and behavior in person. A few have been completely different. These have mostly been some of the most caustic and controversial posters on the board.

Moose was like that. I wish everyone here had a chance to meet him in real life. As others have said, better than me, he was a great fan and perhaps his passion for his teams drove him to post some things he shouldn’t have. I asked him about the difference in personalities in person and on the board and he just smiled and told me it was fun to push people’s buttons.

So glad I had a chance to get to know him in person. It made reading some of his posts a lot easier to take. The board is less without him and I miss his participation.

My condolences to his friends and family.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Everyone I assume is familiar with the zone as “tavern league” but imo the best was when he would go to practices and rave about how so-and-so was doing. Because you know he was setting up later posts during the season to rip Boeheim for keeping said player on the bench.

Matt Gorman would be All-Big Ten!!

 

[Cusefan69]

RIP to a Cuse fan. Condolences to his family.

 

[MSOrange]

I think Tomcat captured it perfectly. I was a lurker back in the AOL days when Igor posted as wbonn123 and lbonn123. There were times I saw merit in some of his points, but the way he insisted on presenting those points sometimes crossed the line by about 20 miles. He definitely made things interesting in his prime posting days.

It's interesting to read the stories from those who actually knew him, and we've lost a true Orange fan and my condolences to his family and friends.

 

[pearl31]

Truly legendary.
R.I.P. Moose

 

[Jake]

I sat with him at many practices. He knew the game very well…but loved to bust chops on these forums.

He told great stories from back in the 80s - 90s. Watching Stevie Thompson fix his FT shooting at practice, but couldn’t maintain the form in games.

Otis Hill faking illnesses to not practice.

DC just dominating in practice.

Fall 2002….at Manley. I walk in and see him sitting by the ball rack as usual. I pull up a chair….”so how’s this Melo guy?” Knowing that he’s probably been to 3-4 practices already.

“Incredible” he says. “He scores from everywhere. And their not keeping this McNamara kid off the floor.”

And I’ll never forget him saying this:

“If we can keep Carmelo another year, I think we can win a title, we’re that good”. He was just a year behind.


He was a good man. May he Rest In Peace.

 

[Cheriehoop]

I was fortunate to have become friends with him over the years. We definitely didn’t always agree but we did have plenty of laughs. About 8 to 10 years ago, a stroke made it too difficult for him to post so he asked if he could call me about SU sports when he wanted to talk, so we exchanged a few phone calls and even went out to lunch with our spouses. Like most of us on this board, he was more than what he revealed here. He was a loving family man, he and Linda babysat their grandchildren, he was a teacher, a coach - a good man challenged in his later years with physical struggles. Sadly I last had contact with him about 4 years ago. He’s now able to resume his spirited conversations with his good friend, Boca Doug (Doug Richardson). RIP Igor! You won’t be forgotten. GO SU!