Sept. 26, 2007
When the first-ever Malone College intercollegiate football game kicked off on September 4, 1993 in the hills of Bethany, West Virginia against the Bethany College Bison, John Rivers, a data base administrator at the College, was sitting in that crowd. And now, with the Pioneers competing in their 15th season this fall, Rivers is still a mainstay in the crowd of Malone fans. In fact, when the Pioneers host Olivet Nazarene (IL) University on Saturday, September 22nd at Fawcett Stadium, Rivers fully intends to be amongst the onlookers for his 143rd Malone game. And with Malone competing in its 148th intercollegiate game on Saturday, easy math will tell you that he has missed just five games in 15 years of Pioneer football.
While this 97% attendance rate is indeed impressive, perhaps even more incredible is the fact that Saturday will also mark the 100th consecutive Malone game that he has attended. The last time Rivers missed a Malone football contest was nearly ten years ago, on October 25, 1997 due to work-related travel. And while attending all Malone home games during this stretch would be difficult enough, Rivers, joined by his wife Debbie at most of the games, has made the trek to all away games during this time as well - his most recent "away" game being in Los Angeles, California two weeks ago when Malone played at Azusa Pacific University.
He has been Malone's statistician for home games since 1997 but with no official duties for away games, the long car rides and recent plane trip to these away contests prove that his love for Pioneer football runs much deeper than his love for statistics and free pizza in the Malone press box at halftime.
Indeed there aren't many things on fall Saturdays that take priority over Pioneer football for Rivers. It has even, in some respects, gotten a bit easier through the years for him to not miss a game. "My family and close friends know not to schedule anything when Malone is playing because I most likely won't be coming," said Rivers jokingly (but not really).
And when he and his wife make the drive to Pioneer away games, there is another challenge that he gladly takes on - namely driving through as many different counties in as many different states as he can on the way. Even long before attending his first Pioneer football game, Rivers began a journey that has taken him through over half the counties in the entire United States - over 1600 of the 3000+ counties. And twelve states - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Florida - no longer pose a challenge to him as he has driven through every county in each of these states.
And what has been the most exciting or memorable Malone game that he has ever attended? "That's easy," said Rivers. "It was our first-ever playoff game (in 1995), when we defeated Geneva College 24-23." Yes, that thrilling come-from-behind win in the final seconds at Paul Brown's Tiger Stadium in Massillon is likely at the top of many a die-hard Pioneer fan's favorite games. And while a number of Pioneer faithful might like to lay claim to being that most die-hard fan, make no mistake about it. If you're looking for Malone College football's number one fan, look no further than John Rivers.
Malone College, a Christian college for the arts, sciences, and professions in the liberal arts tradition, awards degrees in 49 undergraduate majors and five graduate programs. Malone is recognized by the prestigious Templeton Foundation as a leader in character development and is ranked among the top colleges and universities in the Midwest under the category Universities - Master's according to U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2007. Please visit our web site at www.malone.edu.
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