Fans fill stands for another year of tourney magic

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BANGOR – The annual high school basketball hullabaloo that leads up to the state championships has rolled into town once again, bringing with it not only the action on the court at Bangor Auditorium, but also the enthusiasm in the stands.

The tournaments are part sporting activity and part social event. While teams warm up on the hardwood, the stands are filled with well-wishers, friends greeting friends, players reconnecting with former coaches, former officials touching base with each other.

There is as much back-slapping and hand-shaking as you would find in any political rally, and though Barack Obama recently filled the auditorium to capacity and then some, his numbers can’t match the nearly 40,000 people who will watch the tournament games this week.

The fans come, some with faces painted and some decked out in homemade T-shirts announcing the teams they support or the numbers of their favorite players. They come with signs, posters and banners. Often they come not to cheer for any particular team but just to watch the game.

Some come to watch family members, such as Joanna Duke who was there Saturday to watch her sister-in-law Gabrielle Duke play for the Camden Hills High School Windjammers.

“This is her first time at Bangor Auditorium,” Duke said. “We wanted to watch her play here.”

But Duke has been coming to tournament games for a number of years. She came as a student at the old Camden-Rockport High School and she and her husband attended the University of Maine.

“We came to the tournaments all the time,” she said. “Every year we’ve been here. We love to come. There’s a great atmosphere here.”

In her arms, Duke carried her 18-month-old son, William, the next generation of Windjammer fans to come to the tourney.

Bob Duke of Bangor came with his friend Shirley Lyons for the same reason: to cheer on Gabrielle, his granddaughter. Although it has been awhile since he has been to a game, he came ready to enjoy it.

“It’s the enthusiasm in here. Everybody seems to have a good time,” he said. “Win or lose, it’ll be fun.”

Not all fans are family members, of course, or even schoolmates.

“My kids don’t go to Old Town,” said Renee Curtis of Milford. “But I know a lot of the people.”

She has been coming to the basketball tournaments for a number of years, and said there is something special about it.

“It’s the atmosphere and the fun of watching the kids playing,” she said.

There is also a cadre of spectators who are not relatives, don’t know the players or their families personally, and aren’t from the hometowns of the teams that are playing. They are fans of high school basketball and come just to watch the game.

Ron Sanford of Dexter arrived early for the game between Erskine Academy and Camden Hills High School and took up his seat in the stands.

“I’ve been sitting in the same seat for I don’t know how long,” he said.

A former player for the old East Corinth Academy, Sanford played in the tournament in 1959.

“We played Calais,” he said. “They beat us pretty bad.”

He has been coming on and off as a spectator ever since, just to watch the games.

“It’s the atmosphere and the pageantry of it all,” he said. “It’s just to watch the kids and for the love of the game itself.”

Across the aisle and a few rows up in the stands sat Richard “Splash” McQuesten of Charleston, who also is a regular at the tournament games.

“I missed one quarter this morning,” he said. “That’s the first quarter I’ve missed in about 10 years.”

McQuesten also arrived early and is there even though his team from Foxcroft Academy was not playing that day. If Foxcroft is the home team, he sits on the other side of the court, behind the teams. Otherwise, he’s in the same spot for every game.

“I come just for the games,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade you these seats to see any Boston Celtics game. These kids play just for the joy of playing. They’re young kids, and they make mistakes, but that’s part of life.”

These longtime tournament fans drop names the way the glitterati mention movie stars, recalling past players, coaches and officials. Names such as Red St. Louis, Cubby Taylor, Don Sturgeon, Cindy Blodgett, the Vachon girls, Matt Rossignol.

“It’s good to see these kids excel,” said Ed Boucher, who has been coming to tournament games since about 1965. “It’s good to be able to show we’ve got talent in the state.”

Boucher recalled the “buzzer beater” shot several years ago where “the Campbell kid” – Joe Campbell, Bangor High School Class of 2001 – hit a last-minute shot to win the game for the Rams. He pointed to the far basket where it happened.

“I remember that shot,” he said. “You can see it on television, but it’s a lot better being right here.”