Every Friday, Gary Morin picked up Jason Boppre so he could go to the River Cities Speedway to watch his favorite drivers. Jason would call a handful of times each week to make sure the trip to the speedway was still on.
Three or four times a week, Jason talk to his cousin, Big Sky Conference assistant commissioner Jon Kasper, about UND sports-particularly football.
When UND played football games at home on Saturdays, Jason and his tailgate buddies would set up shop in the Alerus Center parking lot hours before kickoff. His tailgate group even won a contest a few years back.
It seemed there was no limit to Jason's energy when it came to being a sports fan.
Jason died Tuesday, the result of a traffic accident on Highway 2 west of Grand Forks.
ADVERTISEMENT
UND teams and RCS racers have thousands of fans from all walks of life-rich, poor, healthy or disabled. Jason was one of those fans, and, despite his disability, he cheered as hard-if not harder-than any sports fan when it came to UND and racing.
Sports have a major connection to thousands of fans in Greater Grand Forks but perhaps more so for fans like Jason.
His friends took his death hard, mainly because Jason, they said, had a zeal for life and an immeasurable passion for sports.
"Jason had a different sense of humor, but it was a good sense of humor," said Morin. "We joked with each other all the time."
His last trip with Jason to RCS came a week ago Friday night.
"He knew Rusty Wallace was going to be there. He really wanted his autograph. He was just tickled to get his autograph and then he got his picture taken with him. It was so special.
"At the races, he met so many people. And he pretty much knew all the racers. There were a number of drivers he really followed, like Chris Ranten, Bob Martin, Mark Dobmeier and Nick Omdahl.
"He'd also save his money so he could buy a year's worth of T-shirts when the World of Outlaws came to town. He really had a keen eye for colors."
ADVERTISEMENT
Jason also had a keen eye for the UND football team, which has been picked to win the Big Sky Conference race this season.
Kasper said his cousin was so passionate about UND football.
"He lived and breathed UND football," said Kasper. "A lot of times, when things like this happen, it's just a name. But I really want people to know who Jason was. He was very friendly, outgoing and a passionate sports fan, despite some of the personal struggles he had."
Last week, Kasper attended the annual Big Sky Conference Kickoff event in Park City, Utah, where coaches and players gathered to promote the upcoming season.
Before the event, Kasper said Jason was persistent in his inquiries about what time UND games would start this season.
"I got back from Park City on Tuesday and I wanted to tell him I talked to Bubba (Schweigert) and we were working on those kickoff times," said Kasper. "And on the day North Dakota was picked first in the preseason polls, the accident happened. It's so sad."
Kasper never got the chance to tell Jason about the kickoff times, talk to him about UND's chances in the league or talk to him about sports in general.
Before Tuesday's tragic accident, Morin-as usual-had planned to pick up Jason around 6 p.m. and head to the track on Friday night. But the races were rained out. Had the races been held, Morin said he would have made sure no one was sitting in Seat 16, Row O in the West West section. That was Jason's seat.
