BANGOR, Maine — You may not know them by name but their faces are familiar.
If you’re attending a high school or college game, particularly basketball games, that is where you will most likely find them.
They are super fans. Some are in Bangor for the basketball tourney and others are following the games online and TV.
They follow their local teams but if their local team isn’t playing, they’ll scour newspapers and websites to find other games to attend.
“It’s the best entertainment in the world as far as I’m concerned,” said Carmel’s Gary Brown. “You get to watch the players through the years and their skill development. You get to see teams from the County [and other parts of the state].
“I enjoy young people,” added Brown, the father of two and grandfather of four.
“I go to 100 high school basketball games a year,” said Frank Theriault of Lubec. “I’ll also watch some elementary school games, I’ll catch a few high school soccer and football games and a few college games.
“I enjoy watching the kids having fun. Coaches are trying to instill something in them to help them progress in their lives. They aren’t going to be NBA players and very few go on to play major college basketball but I enjoy watching them accomplish their goals,” Theriault added.
Kris Larson of East Machias has been watching high school basketball since he was growing up in the 1960s.
“I just like the sense of community,” explained Larson. “There is nothing better than high school basketball to bring people together and give them an opportunity to support young people.”
He noted that Washington County has been hard hit economically and they are isolated during the winter, especially a frigid, snow-filled winter like this one.
A source of entertainment
Basketball serves as a source of entertainment and gets people out of their homes.
Bangor’s Paul Graffam has been attending games since the 1940s. He is 85 and hasn’t gone to many in the past year but he has attended every Bangor High School state championship game in football and basketball. Graffam and wife Mickey are avid sports fans and their son, Ben, was an outstanding point guard on some exceptional basketball teams at Bangor High. Paul and Mickey are 1947 Bangor graduates.
“I enjoy the enthusiasm, the sportsmanship and the team play. Sports are wonderful for people. You can trace [the impact] sports has had in our country. So many good people have come out of sports. There’s something about sports,” said Graffam. “Mickey and I chased Bangor [games] all across the state.”
Orono’s Jim Treadwell said he enjoys the “competition … the winning and the losing. I don’t enjoy the losing but I like to watch.”
Keith Hayward had several reasons for attending games in Aroostook County.
He worked for the Presque Isle recreation department for 35 years before retiring.
“I got to know a lot of the kids so I would go watch them play [when they got to high school],” said Hayward, who spends his winters in Florida.
He and his wife, Cam, whose six children all were athletes, would follow them around.
Hayward said there is a “purity” in high school sports that is refreshing.
“Whatever they play, they’re out there because they love it. It shows in their emotion. They wear it on their face,” said Hayward, who attended some games early in the season before leaving for Florida after Christmas.
“The only bad part about it is you can occasionally get a bad fan who gets vocal,” said Hayward. “They’re just kids. They’re doing the best they can.”
The Haywards and other friends with ties to Aroostook County, Frank Keenan and Barry Madore and their wives, regularly get together and watch high school games that are streamed on the Internet by Aroostook County stations.
Attending the high school basketball tournaments used to be a must.
“It give you a great chance to see a lot of different teams that you hear about,” said Hayward. “Maine does a super job [running] its high school tournaments, especially Eastern Maine.”
Larson quoted a line from a movie that he feels sums up the impact of high school basketball.
“Being happy ain’t nothing more than having something to look forward to and giving your people something to look forward to,” said Larson.
A love of athletics
The love of athletics can begin in many ways.
Several super fans were athletes. Others weren’t but developed an interest in sports through their friends or family members. Some went on to coach at different levels.
For example, Treadwell played four sports at Orono High School: Football, baseball, basketball and track. Graffam never played varsity basketball at Bangor High but played junior varsity basketball and said “I still felt like part of the program.
“I coached in the Bangor YMCA basketball league for 17 years. I loved coaching the little kids. Those were some of the best years of my life,” he said.
“And I can say that I’m one of the few coaches who beat Bob Cimbollek’s teams in the Y League more than his beat mine,” quipped Graffam, referring to the former highly successful Orono, Bangor High and John Bapst basketball coach.
Brown played JV baseball at Carmel High.
“All of my buddies were athletes,” Brown said. “I didn’t care if I played. Just sitting on the bench was fun.”
Theriault was a scorekeeper and team manager at Lubec High School.
Memorable moments
The super fans all have their favorite memories of specific games, performances or players.
”I went to high school with an accomplished gentleman who went on to play at the University of Maine and is now a successful businessman in Maine: Paul Cook,” said Theriault.
“I remember the night Matt Rossignol scored [51] points at the old Bangor Auditorium,” recalled Brown. “I don’t think they had the 3-point line back then. If they had, he would have had 70. He was fantastic.”
Former Hall-Dale and University of Maine standout Rachel Bouchard and Vinalhaven and Husson University star Raymond Alley were also among Brown’s favorites.
Hayward considers former Presque Isle High and UMaine basketball star Steve Condon one of his all-time favorites. Condon was recently selected for the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame.
Larson’s memories are recent.
He was impressed with Machias High School’s Tate Dolley’s 36-point, 10-rebound performance in a 69-43 win over Woodland in an Eastern Maine Class D preliminary game last week.
“She was 12-for-12 from the foul line,” he noted. “She has a nice shooting touch underneath.”
Then he saw Austin Seavey for the Washington Academy boys from East Machias pour in 40 points, grab 22 rebounds, block six shots and make three steals in a 67-39 prelim win over Dexter.
“That was an amazing performance,” said Larson.
The superfans like the new Cross Insurance Center, although Graffam admits he is a traditionalist and preferred the old Bangor Auditorium.
“I’m old school,” he said.
“The Bangor Auditorium was closer to the action but this new one is much more comfortable,” said Treadwell. “The whole building is very attractive.”