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OGDEN — For 29 years, Mike Skogerboe has been to nearly every girls' and boys' basketball game at Ogden's Fremont High School, and nearly every football game. He is a fixture here — and when he couldn't be here, a lot of people noticed.
It's the kind of fanfare you might see at homecoming, but so much of the celebration at Friday night's basketball games was dedicated to the guy known for quietly sitting in the back.
Lisa Dalebout is the girls' varsity basketball coach. She graduated from Fremont in 1999, back in the early days of super-fan Mike Skogerboe.
"He kind of stays back in the shadows and doesn't make big spectacles or anything, but everybody knew who he was. He came to all the games, even back in the '90s," Dalebout said.
Corey Melaney, the boys' varsity coach, graduated here in '95.
"All the guys say 'that's the superfan,' and I said 'What's his name?' and they say 'I don't know, he's the superfan," Melaney said.
He's always been there for home and away games. But nearly a month ago, Skogerboe fell and suffered severe fractures to his ankle.
"Once we heard that, we kind of found out some of his other financial problems and some of the other things that he was struggling with," Dalebout said.
He suddenly couldn't come to the games, being in the hospital and then rehab. The community started fundraising.
"He's had some struggles in his life so we would just love to help him out and do anything we can to get him going again," Fremont High School student body president Sadie Probert said.
Friday night's games were dedicated to Skogerboe even though they heard for weeks, he likely wouldn't be able to be here. But he made it, and the guy who quietly watched from the back was suddenly front and center.
"We have a great family here. Everyone treats me fantastic, better than I deserve," Skogerboe said. "That's what blows me away the most. I knew I had some friends out here and be able to help me a lot, but right now it's mind-boggling."
Friday night the superfan became a superstar as the community asked everyone to give and help Skogerboe, and in turn, thank him for always being here.
"He's an incredible guy," Dalebout said.
Skokerboe was initially a fan of Roy High School, where his mom was the librarian, but he switched in 1994 simply because he says he wanted a change.
He's mostly on his own now and his parents passed away years ago.
The community began a GoFundMe* to raise money and give back to their superfan.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
