HIGH LIFE / A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Fullerton’s No. 1 Fan : Class of ’85 Alumnus Will Log his 2,000th High School Game as Spectator

For most coaches, players or even the most ardent fans, reaching game No. 2,000 might take a lifetime. Most never achieve such a feat. But on Tuesday, Davey Sekhon will walk into the Fullerton High School gym to watch a varsity girls’ volleyball match, marking that milestone.

Sekhon, known to everyone as just “Davey” or “the Fullerton Fan,” is a 1985 graduate of Fullerton. At home football games, it’s Davey’s responsibility to retrieve the kicking tee after each Indian kickoff.

Ed Shaw, Fullerton’s principal, says Davey carries spirit with him wherever he goes. “His enthusiasm is contagious,” Shaw said. “He gets excited about everything, even if we’re down by 25 points.”

Davey’s involvement with Fullerton sports began in 1979, during his freshman year. “I just wanted to help the coaches do the scorebooks for softball and baseball,” Davey said. It was then that he started to keep track of the games he attended.

He’s seen contests in every prep sport in which Fullerton participates, both boys’ and girls’ teams, home and away games.

Davey, now 28, was born prematurely to Kalwant and Margaret Sekhon, and it was six months before his birth defects were diagnosed. After another six months of testing at UCLA Medical Center, doctors determined that Davey had aphasia--inability to use or understand words, caused by brain disease or injury--and weak motor skills. They predicted he would never be able to walk.

But Davey proved the doctors wrong and was walking by age 2. He attended elementary school in Buena Park, junior high in Fullerton, and was enrolled in special education classes at Fullerton High.

“I was supposed to be in Algebra I,” Davey recalled of his freshman year at Fullerton, “but I ended up with easy math.” With dreams of becoming a school janitor, Davey got a job cleaning the school cafeteria. Upon graduating from Fullerton, he enrolled in a work skills training class through Cypress College.

Every weekday, Davey’s father, who now lives in Anaheim Hills, would drive his son to his 8:30 a.m. class at the college. After class, around 11 a.m., Davey would catch a bus for the 12-mile trip to Fullerton High, where he would spend the afternoon watching games or practices.

He has watched many Indian basketball, baseball and tennis teams, among others, travel up and down the Freeway League standings, both winning championships and finishing in last place.

Davey says former Fullerton basketball coach Chris Burton, who recently moved to Washington state from Villa Park, was his favorite coach because of the league titles his teams won in 1989 and ’90.

After passing out flyers for a real estate company for two years, Davey took a job in 1990 with Pizza Hut in East Fullerton as a janitor. After that restaurant was closed, Davey was transferred to the company’s franchise in Anaheim Hills.

Rob Verplanck, Davey’s manager in Anaheim Hills, says: “He’s a great worker. He works great on his own.”

According to Davey, his biggest influence has been his mother, Margaret, with whom he lives on weekends in Fullerton. “She took care of me, gave me food, and all in all, she loves me,” he said.

Kalwant Sekhon, who takes care of Davey on weekdays, says Davey couldn’t be a better son. “He does everything for us. He’s overcome his handicap by being social and affectionate with everyone. He’s a very good influence on the family.”

Davey said he is nervous about his upcoming 2,000th game, but he’s ready and willing to attend a lot more.

“I’m going to work at Pizza Hut for 10 more years and watch another 2,000 games,” he said. “I guess I’ll take it one game at a time.”