'Fans in the Stands' brings familiar faces to Les Rogers Court

SANDPOINT — Empty gyms and crowdless games have become a familiar sight this winter due to the pandemic.

No one likes it, no one enjoys it, but it’s the hand 2020 has dealt all of us. However, the best things come out of the darkest times and that’s the case with “Fans in the Stands.”

The project was started by Kelcee Tomco, whose daughter, Tru Tomco, plays on the Sandpoint girls basketball team. After watching the Bulldogs’ first game this season on a Facebook livestream at Sweet Lou’s, Tomco knew she had to do something to let the team know they were still in the gym supporting them without actually being in the stands.

That night she went home and searched “cardboard cutouts” online. She found a handful of sites, but the cutouts were spendy and many wouldn’t be delivered for weeks, so Tomco came up with her own idea.

“I’ve done enough DIY projects that I thought I could try to come up with a solution,” she wrote in an email.

Tomco went to Walmart, printed out a 20x30 poster size photo, rubber cemented the picture to a foam board and velcroed the photo to a 5-gallon bucket. All-in-all the project cost about $20 to make.

Tomco created multiple “Fans in the Stands” for her family and has designed others for the parents of Kelsey and Riley Cessna, Daylee Driggs and Hattie Larson. One sign even reads, “Moooove Your Booties.”

The cutouts are now on full display at every home girls basketball game. The buckets are placed in the bleachers at Les Rogers Court right where the students usually sit and are stored away after each game.

Tomco said the project has been really fun to work on.

“Fans in the Stands is nothing more than letting these amazing girls know this community is here supporting, watching and still cheering them on, even if we can’t be there in person,” she wrote.

Bluebird Bakery also has a sign in the stands supporting the team, but Tomco’s favorite so far has been the one she made for Abby Leisy.

Abby sent her a photo of her son, Wil, her dad, Dale Vanhorn, and uncle, Gary Vanhorn. Tomco said Dale and Gary have been fixtures in the stands at Sandpoint basketball games for years and rarely, if ever, miss a game.

Tomco said that cutout has a special meaning.

“That one brought tears to my eyes,” she wrote, “and it was an honor to make and see them in the stands for the home games.”

With approval from the Panhandle Health District, SHS has started to allow a very small group of fans into the stands.

On Wednesday night during the home wrestling dual with Timberlake, two fans per Sandpoint wrestler were allowed in and rotated in and out of the gym like a line change in hockey.

Between the 98-and 126-pound matches, SHS let in a total of 10 fans. Then a short intermission took place, those 10 fans left the gym and in came another group of 10.

The reality is fanless events will likely continue for the rest of the winter season and it’s been hard on everybody.

“I’ve heard from players that it’s worse than playing a scrimmage,” Tomco wrote about the empty gyms. “... Besides the squeaks of the shoes, and the occasional cheer from the bench, the silence is deafening. The hype from parents, fans, the student section, the band and the cheerleaders is all gone. And it definitely takes away from the love of the game, because it doesn’t feel like a game. As a parent it is heartbreaking. Before this season I could count on one hand the number of times I missed my kids game in person.”

That’s why Tomco decided to start this project, to give the girls something to cherish and she said the team appreciates seeing familiar faces in the bleachers.

“They definitely bring smiles and laughs to their faces,” she wrote. “It helps fill up the emptiness of the gym.”

Besides the cutouts, Tomco said the parents have found other ways to rally around the girls by brainstorming ideas in their Facebook group.

Tomco said every game this season she’s put together goodie bags with a drink and candy bar inside and corny puns on the outside.

For the girls road game at Lewiston on Dec. 5, the parents put together breakfast to-go bags filled with croissants donated by the Bluebird Bakery.

Tomco said anyone who wants to help with the efforts or suggest other ideas to support the team can message her on Facebook. She is also willing to make a “Fan in the Stand” for anyone who reaches out.

Tomco thanked Chad and Meggie Foust at Sweet Lou’s for hosting watch parties of the games and the Bluebird Bakery for all the support they’ve given.

Tomco said she hopes they can get fans back in the stands at some point this season, but for now they will keep being creative.

“For many of these girls they have played together since the beginning,” Tomco wrote. “They’ve all grown up together and as parents we’ve watched them grow. I think this year, we all just want to support these girls as much as possible and remind them how much joy they bring us simply by playing a sport we all love watching them play … We are incredibly proud of these young ladies and how they have dealt with such a crazy year.”