March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Basketball madness overcomes Bangor

I had been in Maine only a few months when I first heard about the basketball madness that sweeps through Bangor every year at this time.

My roommate at the University of Maine, an Aroostook County boy, began talking excitedly about the high school tournament weeks before it actually unfolded and didn’t stop talking about it until it was over.

He read about the games every day in the newspaper — the schools didn’t matter; he followed them all with equal interest — and entertained me with detailed recollections not only of his own high school days at the Bangor Auditorium, but also of his brother’s days there and his father’s and his uncle’s, too.

His father even planned his vacation around the tournament, and drove the family down to Bangor each year to stay in the same hotel, eat in the same restaurants and take in as many games as possible in a few short days.

When I expressed surprise, my roommate informed me that his fascination with the February tournament was actually quite common. He said that people all over eastern and northern Maine felt the same way about this yearly sporting event and social extravaganza.

Back then, I did not understand the hoopla surrounding the event. There was nothing like it where I came from, nothing in my experience with high school sports that even got close to embracing so many people in one state at one time as this tournament did in Maine.

The longer I live here, the more I think that I may never fully understand the magical spell that the event casts over its loyal fans. I realize that it probably has a lot to do with not being born in Maine, and therefore never being firmly identified with a town or a region which generations of a family have called home.

And though I have never shared the deep sense of tradition that the crowds take with them into that hallowed gymnasium every day, I’ve learned over the years to appreciate the warm memories they take back home with them and carry forever in their hearts.

This week, as thousands of the basketball faithful stream in to Bangor from their far-flung homes, filling the restaurants, bars, hotels and stores, I’ve been tempted to drop in for a game or two and experience some of that jumbo communal feeling that never fails to rock the joint.

The problem for me, though, is that I lived in at least four different places in Maine before moving to Bangor. Because I retain a fondness for each of those old haunts, I wouldn’t necessarily care to root against any of them.

Also, at this point in my life I don’t happen to know a single youngster, male or female, who plays high school basketball in any town.

So if I go to a couple of games at random, whom do I root for? Not just any team will do — it’s got to be a team I can live and die for, a team that can break my heart or make it swell with pride.

“Just pick a team and cheer ’em on like hell,” advised an acquaintance of mine who has spent more hours at the auditorium than he could possibly calculate. “Once you get into the spirit of the whole thing, you can get carried away with any team. Personally, I always root for the underdogs.”

I asked him if it’s important to know at least one of the players on the team you’re screaming for.

“Not a bit,” he said. “I just pick a team going in, and sit with the people from that town. We talk the whole time and jump up and down and get to know each other. Before long, I’m like one of the townspeople.”

So you actually start to care about who wins?

“Sure, it’s my home team for that game,” he said. “I study the roster and match the numbers with the players. I call them by their first names and root for them the whole time. I really get caught up in the excitement.”

So during the game you feel as if you get to know the kids personally?

“Definitely,” he said. “I even begin to feel a little bad for certain players who are having a bad game, and I feel proud of the ones who are really playing their hearts out.”

You must really love basketball to be able to get so deeply involved in it.

“Oh, yeah, I love basketball,” he said. “Been following it most of my life. But not just any basketball. I don’t watch a lot of college games, and I hate the NBA. Buncha jerks. The tournament is different, though. It’s hard to explain, but it’s more than just watching a high school basketball game.”

That’s exactly what my college roommate used to tell me years ago. And if I stick around long enough, maybe one day I’ll have a better idea about what it all means.


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like