Newark Catholic grad Fitzpatrick first Favorite Fan

• Mark Fitzpatrick began attending NC in 1980, and has not missed a playoff game since.
• Fitzpatrick makes the trip from Worthington for each football games and many basketball games.

NEWARK – Newark Catholic kicks off its 2015 season Friday at Portsmouth West, and you can count on Mark Fitzpatrick being in attendance.

In fact, Fitzpatrick already has made a scouting trip of his own. He stopped at West High School this past January on his way to Kentucky to watch the NC girls basketball team play in a showcase during the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“It was really easy to get there,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a new (building). It is kind of like going to Licking Valley.”

Of course, it comes as no surprise Fitzpatrick will be in attendance. He has been a regular at Green Wave games since his love affair with the football team began in 1980.

That is when Fitzpatrick began attending NC as a sophomore in high school, and eight consecutive trips to the state finals got him hooked.

“That gets you excited,” Fitzpatrick said. “I haven’t missed any playoff games since 1980. Even when I was in college at Walsh University, I used to come down here and go to games.”

Fitzpatrick is the first to be highlighted in The Advocate’s Favorite Fan feature.

Neither weather nor distance has stopped Fitzpatrick, who now lives in Worthington. He travels alone to the games, but has been joined in the stands by many friends along the way, including Clair Schell and Steve Brown.

His fondest memories are of those NC teams that caused him to fall in love with the Green Wave. He was a member of the marching band when NC beat Fostoria St. Wendelin 14-7 in the 1982 state final at Groveport.

“We only had six seniors on the team, and the underclassmen helped us out,” said Fitzpatrick, who is nominating star tailback Sherman Elliott for the NC Hall of Fame. “Elliott was in my class, and he broke our season rushing record with 1,495 yards. I (nominated) him last year but didn’t get enough votes.”

Xavier Cook, a former NC baseball player, nominated Fitzpatrick for the feature. He said Fitzpatrick’s support of student-athletes is second to none.

Fitzpatrick uses social media to send well-wishes and offer congratulations.

“Mark is the most genuine man I have ever met and the biggest supporter of Newark Catholic that there is,” Cook said.

Fitzpatrick attends many of the NC boys and girls basketball games and the volleyball and baseball postseason games. He said he would love to soon move back to Newark and attend additional events.

He was particularly close to the girls basketball team the past few years as he enjoyed visiting at games with Ashleigh Parkinson’s family and was a classmate of Nancy Bourne, whose daughter, Jenna, played on the team.

Coach Rob Smith invited Fitzpatrick to sit on the bench during the team’s game in Kentucky, and Fitzpatrick felt the heartbreak of the team’s losses in the Division IV regional tournament the past four years.

“(Smith) has been really good to talk to me,” Fitzpatrick said. “A lot of times, people younger than me they don’t want to talk to somebody that is old enough to be their dad, but I was really impressed with the girls basketball team.”

Fitzpatrick said no football seasons have caused him to wonder whether the time or travel still was worth it. He admired the way friend Phil Shonebarger was able to continue to attend games until his death this past winter, and he cannot see his life without NC sports.

“When I move back here and am closer, I hope somebody will get me to a game when I am too old,” Fitzpatrick said. “I still want to do it as long as I can.”

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt

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