Cheering ’til he’s blue in the hair

Just after the Bruin shuffle is played at every home game,
UCLA’s most recognizable fan appears on the Jumbotron,
dancing to the accompanying hamster jingle that is still blasting
through the loudspeakers.

Yet Mark Kowal doesn’t need this kind of gimmick to gain
attention. Clad in a blue wig and hoisting a pair of blue and gold
Styrofoam noodles, he’s gained his reputation for what he
does during the game.

From his front-row seat behind the eastside basket of Pauley
Pavilion, Kowal will stand up, scream and flail his noodles wildly
every time an opponent shoots a free throw. His distinct cackle
with each miss can be heard from the rafters.

“The coaching staff tells me to keep up the good work, and
I always do,” Kowal said.

Despite being diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder caused by brain
damage that affects the ability to speak or write, Kowal seems to
come through loud and clear in the stands. In an almost robotic
voice, Kowal explains why his cheering affects the outcomes of the
games.

“My secret is my Styrofoam noodles,” Kowal said.
“It really makes a big difference between winning and losing
games.”

Aphasia is more typically found among older individuals who have
suffered strokes, yet Kowal, 39, has dealt with the disorder since
birth. Nevertheless, he still worked his way through special
education courses to earn a diploma from Eagle Rock High School,
and he currently holds down two jobs. It’s little surprise
that one of them is related to sports.

On nights when he’s not cheering on the Bruins, Kowal runs
the scoreboard and shot clock at his high school alma mater’s
basketball games. At a recent game, an opposing team’s
principal marveled at how his school needed three people to do the
job Kowal did by himself.

“He’s very independent,” his mother Marti
said. “He also has an excellent memory and recalls specific
games.”

At home games, Kowal meticulously tracks every free throw and
field goal from both teams, pointing to statistics where he feels
his cheering has jinxed the other team. While Pauley has not been
considered a particularly intimidating place for visiting teams to
play in recent years, Kowal has tried to give UCLA a home-court
advantage by his lonesome.

“He’s always taken it so seriously, watching which
side wins and the percentages,” Marti said. “He thinks
everyone should cheer. Even in the Steve Lavin years, when everyone
was down on Lavin, he thought everyone should cheer.”

Rooting for a program that had struggled immensely over the past
few years was never a problem for Kowal. When the Bruins trailed
Arizona by 11 points at halftime last year, he would tell nearby
Wildcat fans that they had better watch out because UCLA was a
second-half team.

“He always thinks we’re going to win,” said
his brother Eric, who works for UCLA’s video-editing
department and gets basketball tickets for Kowal. “He never
gives up.”

Yet despite his feverish cheering, Kowal does not get overly
disappointed when the Bruins lose. For Kowal, there is always a
next time and this optimistic attitude translates to other aspects
of life as well.

An avid bowler, he never got upset like some of the other kids
when he didn’t get a strike.

“Mark always figured he could get a strike on the next
one,” Marti said.

Having attended every home game this year, there’s always
been another chance for Kowal to rattle a free-throw shooter or
dance to the Bruin shuffle. Yet for all the energy he expends,
Kowal says he never gets tired of cheering.

“I do it for fun,” he said. “That’s my
secret.”

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