Beloved New Orleans and Tulane Broadcaster’s Life and Legacy Celebrated in Memorial Service
The New Orleans and Tulane communities suffered a massive loss when longtime sports director Ed Daniels passed last Friday. All who came to know Daniels throughout his 30-plus years at WGNO-TV cherished him as a pillar of New Orleans sports from high school to college to the pros.
His life will be celebrated on Thursday, Aug. 22 in multiple ways. The public is invited to attend his visitation and memorial mass at St. Philip Neri Church, 6500 Kawanee Ave., Metairie, with visitation from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the mass thereafter at 1 p.m.
After his private burial, his family invites the public to a Celebration of Life at Rock N' Bowl, 3016 S. Carrollton Ave., in New Orleans, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Daniels died at age 67 on Friday after suffering a massive heart attack in California last month covering the New Orleans Saints training camp.
The longtime WGNO-TV sports director of more than three decades suffered a massive heart attack last month while in California to cover the start of training camp for the New Orleans Saints.
He is survived by his wife, Robin Daniels, his five children, and five grandchildren. The family incurred significant expenses during his 22-day hospitalization. Cumulus Radio New Orleans and Crescent City Sports, where Daniels was a longtime contributor, launched a fundraising campaign for the Daniels family to help cover the expenses.
Daniels was a ferocious supporter of Tulane Athletics, and wanted nothing short of the best for the program in his 30 years in New Orleans sports at WGNO. He championed the team through years that most media stopped caring or covering.
Those who came to know Daniels personally knows the loss cuts much deeper, myself included.
I began covering New Orleans Sports in 2021 as Tulane's sideline reporter and my first season credentialed with the New Orleans Saints. I had no experience or connections in the industry after moving back to the city in March of that year. A press box can be daunting when you are shy and unfamiliar with the landscape like myself.
Ed Daniels was the first person I sat next to in the Saints press box, and that continued throughout the season. I had seen Ed at Tulane practices and recognized him. He first turned to me to start talking about Ian Book in the preseason, and I remember appreciating how a stranger wanted to engage in a conversation with me about football.
That was merely Ed breaking the ice. He spoke to everyone he met as if they're old friends, and treated them as such. I remember looking at pictures of charcuterie boards his wife had made at their vacation home on his phone during a dragging Thursday night game.
I remember him introducing me to one of my best friends who covered New Orleans sports for several years, Brooke Kirchhofer. My second game in the press box, Ed asked about me and my background. I mentioned playing soccer growing up. Brooke was a college soccer player at Lamar University. He turned to the woman next to him, tapped her shoulder, and said we might want to meet.
That was Ed Daniels, always thinking of those around him first and making every waiting period for media at Tulane a blast. But I will never forget how comfortable and familiar he made me feel in a daunting setting in my first season covering both NFL and college football. By simply inquiring, Ed made you feel like he belonged.
His legacy is shown in everyone who came to know him, who has their own unique Ed story, and how much his presence is already missed.
MADDY HUDAK