HOULTON, Maine — Even though he hasn’t lived in Houlton for more than 15 years and doesn’t know any of the basketball team members anymore, Joe McMahon of Andover, Massachusetts, still tries to watch every game during tournament time.
“It is really my second favorite time of the year, after the holidays,” he said late last week. “I still have friends who live there and some of their children play basketball, so they keep me up to date on how the teams are doing. I try to watch every game that I can when they are live streamed on the computer.”
McMahon is not alone in his beliefs about tournament time, the two week span in February and March in which the regional and statewide high school basketball champions are determined. Several current and former residents said that the spirit of teamwork, goodwill and athleticism displayed during the two week span build lasting memories.
McMahon said that his “basketball crazy” family traveled to the tournaments in Bangor as often as they could when he lived in Houlton.
“There was nothing like watching a game in the old Bangor Auditorium,” he said. “You felt like you were almost sitting on the court with the players. I haven’t been to the new building [the Cross Insurance Center,] but I have heard that it is nice.”
Jason Mitchell, another Houlton resident, said Monday that he attended Houlton High School during the years that the girls basketball team “dominated” other local teams, winning several gold balls under former Coach John Donato.
“That was a great time to go to that school,” he said. “The school spirit was amazing. We would hold a pep rally on the Friday before school vacation to amp up the teams, and the teams would parade through the hallways while we stood outside of the classrooms and clapped and cheered them on. It was fantastic.”
Since his younger sister was a cheerleader, he said, his family traveled to Bangor to watch the teams play.
“My most vivid memories are of the times in which the girls won titles by just a few points, or with buzzer beating shots,” he said. “The gym full of people would just go crazy.”
Marcia Henderson of Presque Isle said she too tries to never miss a game played by the Presque Isle High School boys and girls teams during tournament time. She said she also has fond memories of pep rallies and gold balls.
“I was in the band,” she said. “So we always got to go and watch the games. My favorite memories, besides our teams winning, was when there would be another band at the tournament who was supporting their team. We would sometimes play the same songs together, and the whole auditorium would just be bursting with sound. It was fantastic.”
