Holding a Quaker Oats Chewy granola bar in one hand and frantically waving a yellow program in the other, Mr. Paul looks strangely at home at the end of the long metal players' bench on Gordon Field. He is always there at women's home soccer games, along with other Brandeis sporting events, identifiable by his signature rumpled blazer, uniquely large rectangular glasses and his unmatched blue-gray and green eyes, forever looking out at the field from underneath his signature houndstooth fedora.Eighty-one-year-old Robert Paul, affectionately called Mr. Paul by the athletes, arrives from his home in Sharon well before each game begins, allowing him enough time to watch warm-ups and to chat with players about school before the coach rallies the team for a pep talk. Paul has been a devoted fan and a familiar face at Brandeis sporting events ever since his next-door neighbor's son played soccer for the Judges in 1970.

"I've been here so long, there's a new generation of referees and now the new guys are getting old," he said.

"He just basically kept coming," said Lynne Dempsey, associate director of athletics. "He fell in love with the atmosphere and got involved with the kids. He's expanded since soccer to volleyball, [then] to basketball, and now he comes to tennis."

Mr. Paul's dedication does not go overlooked by the players. "I first noticed Mr. Paul as a freshman. He knew my name before I met him," women's soccer player Brittany Douglas '07 said. "He cheers for us, and he always takes the time to come up to us after the game and congratulate us. Last game, he came up to my parents and me afterwards and said: 'I was wounded twice in combat, and you're a tougher cookie than me."

Mr. Paul has no children of his own, which may explain his wholehearted devotion to learning the names, academic majors, injuries and parents of each athlete. For the new athletes, Mr. Paul is as much a part of the program as long bus rides and practices. He says he tries to do what he can to welcome new players to Brandeis teams.

"[The first years] were all stars in high school, and then they come and sit the bench and get discouraged," he said. "I try to keep them in it."

Mr. Paul's commitment to Brandeis athletics cannot be overstated. A story about a Brandeis athlete who died in a car accident can begin to explain how Paul feels about his collegiate friends.

"His mother came over to cheer me up at her own son's funeral," Paul said.

He seems to forget his age as soon as the first whistle blows, letting his unbridled emotion pour onto field through animated gestures and unreserved cheers.

"He's been a great supporter of the women's program and the men's program," said women's soccer coach Denise Dallamora. "He brings a sense of consistency. He's been a fan forever and ever and ever."

Over 30 years in fact. Paul remembers when the men's soccer team won the NCAA Division III national championship in 1976 and when coach Simon took over as head coach of the women's basketball program in 1987.

How do the athletes show their appreciation for their biggest fan? Last year, when the women's basketball team defeated New York University to take the ECAC New England Division III championship, Paul was asked to help cut down the symbolic winning net.

"I was very honored because they asked me to go with them to NYU," Paul said.

Perhaps Brandeis can learn a lesson from the No. 1 Judges fan, an 81-year-old veteran who cares as much about the numbers on the player's backs as the numbers on the scoreboard.

"[Coming to Brandeis] is sort of an escape," he said. "The game is a game and you want them to win, but it's more about the friendships and the parents that are really important.