A Tale of Two Fans

Most people who attend a De La Salle football game are there because they know (or knew) a De La Salle student, they were once a De La Salle student themselves, or they are directly connected to the school through employment or in some other close way.

That was not the case for Aaron Nakano. A Bay Area resident, Aaron grew up playing high school football at El Camino in South San Francisco. Still, he didn’t hear about De La Salle until the latter part of the famous 151-game win streak under legendary Spartan coach, Bob Ladouceur. Curious, he decided to make the drive from his home on the San Francisco Peninsula to see for himself what the fuss was about.

One game was all it took. Aaron instantly became enamored with not just the concept of the “perfect effort,” but also the people he met, and the sense of Brotherhood that he witnessed. The experience turned him into one of the most loyal and long-term De La Salle football fans to ever grace Owen Owens Field. Aaron did not miss a single home game for 20 years. He also traveled to many of De La Salle’s away games too.

Over the years, Aaron’s admiration for De La Salle students, parents, and teachers only continued to grow. So did his friendships. He could always be found, during home games, in the spectator stands at the 20-yard line, sitting in the 10th row. He was invariably flanked by De La Salle friends like former parents, Thomas and Betty Clogher, and De La Salle Chemistry teacher Viki Acquistapace and her husband Tom. Similarly, he could often be seen enjoying pre or post-game refreshments at nearby Rocco’s Ristorante Pizzeria.

In short, De La Salle became a big part of Aaron’s life, despite him never having a family member or friend attend the school. He believed in De La Salle – in its values and what it stands for – and he wanted to be a part of the De La Salle experience through osmosis.

Sadly, Aaron died suddenly on November 11, 2022, from a heart attack. He passed on the same day that De La Salle won the NCS Open Division Semis against James Logan. It was the first and only De La Salle home football game that he would miss. He was 67 years old.

Aaron is survived by his sisters, Lois and Phyllis.

De La Salle’s mission is well-known and well-documented. The school’s sole purpose is to prepare young people for life and college through a liberal arts Lasallian education. It achieves this by promoting a vital faith life, sponsoring strong academic programs, offering a wide range of student activities, and hiring a dedicated faculty, administration, and staff. The result is a lasting impact that reverberates among its student population long after graduation.

However, De La Salle’s ability to shape lives also stretches beyond those with a personal or on-campus experience.

It is not uncommon for De La Salle President, David Holquin, to attend athletic away games once or twice a year. He uses the opportunity to reconnect with alumni and other members of the ever-expanding De La Salle community. That was certainly the case when he traveled to San Diego to watch De La Salle’s football team successfully face off against Cathedral Catholic last September.

It was at this game that David was introduced to Bob Barrett, aka “Havasu” Bob. Like Aaron, Bob became a huge fan of De La Salle after reading about its football team. Only for him, a former high school football center and defensive tackle (and South Dakota High School State Champion), this happened 35 years ago – long before De La Salle’s record-breaking winning streak. At that time, De La Salle was featured in a USAToday top 20 high school football list. Bob, who was in high school, recalls marveling at how a little school in Concord, Calif. could be included in a list of U.S. powerhouses.

Since that day, Bob has actively followed De La Salle’s football program from afar. Early on, he watched the school rise in the football rankings, and then, later, during the streak, he found out what made the school’s program so special; a focus on the process instead of the result. “You do things the right way, for the right purpose,” Bob explains. “Sport is educational. Your athletes are learning how to improve. That translates to everything in life.”

Every year, Bob looks at De La Salle’s football schedule in the hope of going to a game. However, until last year, he had only seen one game in person – and that was a decade ago when he visited California for business. However, after a move from Minnesota to Lake Havasu, Ariz. in 2021, Bob thought there might be new opportunities. That proved to be the case last fall. It was an easy decision for him to make the 300-mile drive from Lake Havasu to San Diego to see De La Salle’s varsity team score a 28-20 victory against Cathedral Catholic. Similar to Aaron’s experience, Bob immediately felt welcomed in the De La Salle visitor section, even though he knew no one at De La Salle. It was how he met De La Salle’s Parent Association Vice President, Veronica Blanco, and how he was ultimately introduced to David Holquin (pictured below).