FEATURED A tribute to our dear friend CouchCoach

PAPPYDOG

There are no Dak haters just Cowboy lovers!!!
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I am sad to announce we have recently lost an irreplaceable member of our fan community here at The Zone. Michael Baer, aka “CouchCoach” has passed away after a long illness which was confirmed by his son today. Like me, many of you have noticed his absence of late and missed his always fun and interesting insights here.

I have known CC for over a decade going back to the days of the old Cowboys forum on the team site. He was always gracious and funny with a sharp and insightful wit and a wise contributor to all the topics he visited.

Reading his posts were not only interesting and smile inducing, they also were often full of wisdom and insight to life itself. His writing style was incredibly witty, clever and off beat, often bringing insights into not only football but many topics of life. We communicated frequently through PMs the last year and a half talking about his health and the challenges he faced. He never lost his sense of humor or wit in the face of pain and decline.

Many times in the last year, Couch Coach wrote in great detail and eloquence in the “Morning Pops” thread of his long and difficult health journey. If you’ve never read them, it might be worth your time to revisit what he wrote and take note of how gracious he remained to the end.

His last post on our forum was made on Sept.19th when he welcomed a new member (which he often did) by simply saying, “Welcome to the best sports site.” It was the last thing he wrote here.

His kindness was always upfront. His humor was quick and top shelf; never at the expense of someone else and often self deprecating. He loved the Cowboys but had long ago let go of basing his happiness on their success.

One way we can ALL honor our dear friend is by following his example - don’t take yourself or your points on this forum too seriously. Being kind to our fellow fans is way more important than being right.

Any time any one of us takes the time to welcome a new member to the forum, or encourages someone here, or reminds us that life is more important than what happens to the Cowboys each week, we should remember Michael “Couch Coach” Baer.

Rest in peace brother. You are deeply missed.
Go Cowboys!
A Good guy has left us................R.I.P.
 

Reid1boys

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I also have a relationship with CC going back more than a decade at the old site. We went at it many times over the years. He, like me am passionate about the things we believe in. It was just the other day that there was a thread...might have been about Jerry's paternity lawsuit being dropped, and I made a comment about waiting for CC to be chiming in at any moment. I was not aware he was ill, but it did cross my mind that it had been a while since I had seen him post, and his health did cross my mind.

I am saddened to hear this. He was a person worthy of speaking to. He will be missed.

Strangely, I just watched an old 90s movie with Nichole Kidman and Michael Kidman. Keaton's character is in his 30s and has terminal cancer. It is worth a watch and with CC passig, it may be another way for us to put life back in perspective. I will have a drink for CC prior to tipoff of next weeks game.

RIP my friend.
 
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MarcusRock

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Aw, damn. I didn't know. He was a good guy and always had a story to tell about what he'd seen and experienced in his life. I've always appreciated his openness that way.

Hope you can communicate to his son how much he was appreciated here. I'm sure it would help their family through their grief.

RIP Coach.
 

SteveTheCowboy

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I am sad to announce we have recently lost an irreplaceable member of our fan community here at The Zone. Michael Baer, aka “CouchCoach” has passed away after a long illness which was confirmed by his son today.

Rest in peace brother. You are deeply missed.
Go Cowboys!
Rest in peace Cowboys brother. Prayers for the family in their loss.
Oh my i think my eyes are leaking.:oops:


will also pray his kindness and civility will bear fruit here.
 

Reid1boys

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Thank you so much for sharing. Fortunately I was able to say my goodbyes a few weeks ago while he was in Hospice.

Michael was a good friend and Allie in these forums for over 15 years. He will be dearly missed , never forgotten and irreplaceable.

Unfortunately in this anonymous setting we don’t often get to know other members personally. Michael shared some of his personal life with us as I did many years ago myself which some was used against me in the early days . He PM years ago advising not to divulge as much and provided his name and since I retired turned out we don’t live that far apart.

These forums will never be the same again.
RIP
I also remember you from the old site... like CC, we have gone at it many times. But we have mostly remained respectful to each other, as it should be.
 

Bobhaze

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I also have a relationship with CC going back more than a decade at the old site. We went at it many times over the years. He, like me am passionate about the things we believe in. It was just the other day that there was a thread...might have been about Jerry's paternity lawsuit being dropped, and I made a comment about waiting for CC to be chiming in at any moment. I was not aware he was ill, but it did cross my mind that it had been a while since I had seen him post, and his health did cross my mind.

I am saddened to hear this. He was a person worthy of speaking to. He will be missed.

Strangely, I just watched an old 90s movie with Nichole Kidman and Michael Kidman. Keaton's character is in his 30s and has terminal cancer. It is worth a watch and with CC passig, it may be another way for us to put life back in perspective. I will have a drink for CC prior to tipoff of next weeks game.

RIP my friend.
Well said Reid. It would be cool if we all raised a glass in honor of CC before next week’s game.
 

Bobhaze

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"I'm treating the coronavirus with vodka. I think the shape of a martini glass scares the little boogers."


Just one of my favorite CC quotes. He cracked me up constantly, now I can't stop getting tears in my eyes.
Kev, maybe we could all agree to raise a glass in honor of our fallen brother before next week’s game…or some other appointed time. He would’ve loved that.
 

Bobhaze

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As I read through all the wonderful comments made about CC, I am reminded how special it is to be part of a place like the Zone. Not just that we love the Cowboys but also proving that this is a true community. We never actually see each other but amazingly we can know and appreciate each other’s personalities.

We disagree, cuss and discuss all things Cowboys, but in the end we can appreciate the friendships and respect we can and should have for each other. No matter what.

In honor of my fallen friend, I am reminded that life is way too short and rich with opportunities to respect each other, and that being kind, humble and funny are way more important than being “right”.
 

acr731

Jerry learned to GM from Pee Wee Herman
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Very sad to hear this news. R.I.P. Coach, you will be missed by many. Posting this photo in your honor...

For those who don't know, this cat has been CC's avatar going back many years, and even all the way back to the DC.com days. Every time I saw this cat I knew who the post was going to be from. I'm going to miss you, my friend.


67965306_2229135780542192_6335139536841998336_n.png
 
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