In Memoriam

Paul Massell (1968–2024), Founder

Red.Fans—originally redmen.com—was founded by Paul Massell in 1998.

Paul was born in Santa Rosa, California on April 21, 1968. He grew up throughout California, but when it came time to go to college, he chose to attend St. John’s University in New York, where his grandparents lived. It proved to be a defining decision—in his junior year, he met Kay in a theology class. They married and raised 10 children together over the course of 20 years.

A web developer by trade, Paul built his career working from home. This allowed him and Kay to homeschool their children and—just for the experience of trying new environments—live in various states across the country, including New York, Ohio, Maine, Arizona, California, and Oklahoma.

This fan site began as an early side project, born from Paul’s deep and loyal passion for St. John’s basketball. Aside from his faith in God and his love for Kay and their children, Johnnies basketball may have been his greatest enthusiasm in life.

On his LinkedIn profile, Paul described himself this way:

Core values: Simplicity, humility, faithfulness

Goals: Clarity; following the truth wherever it leads Especially valued: Underdogs, the quirky and understated, sacrifice

Professional pet peeves: Entrenched systems and their gatekeepers—especially those who maintain an environment of inscrutability to hold an organization’s technology hostage

Personal joys: Family dinner; driving around America; gadgets and tools; witnessing the progress, growth, and discoveries of my children

Food: Cooking, organic, non-GMO, NY pizza, Maine lobster, Kansas City ribs, California produce

For over 25 years, Paul carefully stewarded this site into a devoted community of St. John’s basketball fans. During March Madness, it generates over a million page views per month.

The site is now maintained by Paul’s sons.

Donations are greatly appreciated and go directly toward maintaining the site and its server costs. Any amount exceeding those fixed costs goes to Paul’s widow, Kay.