Sports Stuff-Emery High’s super fan

By GARY ARRINGTON

By GARY ARRINGTON, Sports Writer
Often when we talk sports, we talk about the participants on the field or the court or on the mat. And almost as often, we talk about the officials that officiate those contests. Well not today. Today we talk about the other leg of a good game, the fan.
Fans are good for the game. They enjoy watching and quite often they encourage the participants to do better, to try harder, to play through pain or tiredness or aches or whatever.
Every once in a while there is someone that earns the title Super Fan and Emery High had one of those until last week.
John Bissell was a custodian by trade but John was a fan by choice. I am not sure that John ever missed a contest at Emery High School.
He was there for football and basketball and wrestling and softball and volleyball and I am even quite sure he was there for choir concerts and band concerts and plays and everything.
John loved kids and he loved games and he loved talking. Very seldom could you have a short conversation with John about what to put in the sport story and about who played well and do you want to go to a BYU game. John was enjoyable and passionate about everything.
John, just before his death, was awarded a lifetime activity pass to Emery High. He was in heaven. It is too bad that he will not be there to use it. I will miss John and so will the kids and all the coaches and all who regularly talked to John.
The old couch that always showed up for basketball games in the student section was John’s kingdom after he was named super fan by the students and sat at the game eating free pizza surrounded by those he adored.
Last week, nobody sat on that couch. There was a picture of John and a sign that said Bissell’s Missile. How appropriate. Thanks John, we will miss you.