Couple has attended wrestling matches for 36 years

Doyle and Dora Brown have seen “thousands” of wrestling matches.

The Browns have been attending Bonners Ferry High School wrestling matches for 36 years including out-of-town matches.

“They are faithful fans,” said high school wrestling coach Conrad Garner. “We can be a long way from home and they are there. The kids aren’t comfortable until they look into the stands and see Doyle and Dora there. They are really awesome people.”

They don’t have family on the team, and their son, Paul, wrestled one year as a freshman.

“He wanted instant success, but it just doesn’t come in wrestling,” said Doyle Brown.

The Browns moved to Bonners Ferry on Aug. 31, 1964, from southern California with their children who were 8, 5 and 4 years old.

The couple started attending matches when Dora Brown worked in the kitchen at the high school and got to know the students.

“I got really into it,” said Dora Brown, 70. “Now we see the kids of kids we watched when we first got into it.”

“If we don’t show up at a match, everyone wonders why, even down in Pocatello,” she continued.

“Now that we are retired there is no reason not to go,” added Doyle Brown, 74. “We like to see our guys win. They are all there for each other, win or loose. If they put everything they have into it, that’s all you can ask.”

The Browns believe the team got better after Garner started coaching in 1986.

“We’ve always had a few outstanding wrestlers, but not a good team until Conrad started,” said Doyle Brown.

Dora also writes the wrestling stories for The Herald.

“The paper didn’t have the information about wrestling matches,” she said. “So I started an arrangement with David Keyes (publisher of The Herald) for it; he gave me a free subscription.”

The Browns plan to keep attending matches.

“We will continue going as long as we are able to,” said Dora Brown. “It is the most fair sport there is because any kid can wrestle”

“It also takes more dedication than any other sport,” added Doyle Brown.