Kochanny: Petoskey superfan Richard McDonald will forever have a seat at the game

When you’re at the amount of Petoskey sporting events that I am, you tend to notice certain things one season after another and year after year.

One of those – if you’re paying attention like I always am – is who’s showing up. Heck I even know where a good amount of people prefer to sit.

But, even if you weren’t paying such close attention over the years, there was one Petoskey fan you certainly noticed and it wasn’t for any wrong reasons.

That was of course Richard McDonald. Everyone knew Richard. He was quiet and far from who you would expect to be the typical fanatic. But, he was every bit of Petoskey’s superfan.

For 13 years, I got to know Richard and where I could expect him. For a while, I never saw him miss a baseball game in the spring, football in the fall or basketball in the winter. He’d even occasionally add other sports to the mix, depending on transportation or the weather. He walked to most events over the years.

So now, as we begin another athletic season for the 2024-25 school year, it’s terribly sad to know Richard won’t be there with us. Last Sunday, Aug. 11, Richard passed away at McLaren Hospital in Petoskey at the age of 75.

It’s since sent a shockwave through social media of the parents, coaches, fans and athletes he met and followed over the years. Richard loved the kids.

While I only got to know him for around 13 years, there are coaches and parents in Petoskey now that grew up with Richard at their games and they’ve still got only great things to say about the man.

He was just so kind. He had his spots, too. I always knew where to look for Richard.

At baseball or softball, he was right next to the Northmen dugout, lined up perfectly with the PHS batter’s box, where he would hand out high fives to the athletes through the fence. If you were a sophomore, it was two taps, juniors did three and of course, seniors four.

At basketball games, at least in recent years, I could look up behind me and see Richard at the top of the stands sitting in the top row by the PHS weight room doors.

In football, he had his top corner bleacher spot.

He even frequented the fast pitch softball games at the Petoskey waterfront during the summer months and had his spot there, too.

Richard wasn’t from Petoskey. He grew up in Durand, moved to Ohio and then later moved to Petoskey with his mother.

A sports fan, Richard just took a liking to Northmen athletics. And of course, PHS took a liking to Richard always being there.

There were numerous teams that have helped show their support for Richard with gifts, from Carhartt bibs to his own PHS varsity jacket.

When the News-Review put together our area superfan contest back in 2015, Richard ran away with the win. He was later gifted a PHS package by the school, full of Petoskey pride items.

Just last fall, as Richard dealt with some health issues and attending games became tougher, Petoskey stepped up again, recognizing Richard during a volleyball game with a personalized PHS quilt.

Truth is though, Richard would never ask for anything. Well, except maybe a win for Petoskey that day. But even if that didn’t happen, Richard would be back again, cheering respectfully from his signature spot.

It’ll certainly be strange not seeing him at games anymore, but the kind of loyalty and kindness he spread in Petoskey throughout his life will forever be etched into the fields, gyms and stadiums he cheered from.

Rest easy, Richard.

Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Kochanny: Petoskey superfan Richard McDonald will forever have a seat at the game