Basketball fanatic, Mark Chandler, shares the story behind his Fan Fair legend

Promoting the game he loves with witty posts and unwavering support, Queensland basketball has been graced by a unique character for a decade. Here’s the story behind the Fan Fair.

His write-ups are legendary, his sense of humour a little bit different but most of all his love for the game of basketball is infectious.

But what is the story behind one of Queensland basketball’s most unique characters.

For close to a decade, Mark Chandler – or Fan Fair as he’s known to most basketball fans – has shared his love for the game with people around the state and country.

Spending hours driving to senior state league games, Chandler is welcomed with open arms to clubs around Queensland as he takes hundreds of photos and shares them on his popular Facebook page, usually accompanied by a witty wrap up of the weekend’s action.

Fan Fair (right) with former Toowoomba QBL coach Anthony Corcoran.

And while the exposure surrounding the semi-professional level in Queensland has increased in recent years, especially with the introduction of the NBL1, Chandler was on the ground promoting community basketball when others thought there was no use.

The 58-year-old Jindalee resident, who became involved in basketball when his daughter started playing for the West Brisbane Falcons, said the idea behind Fan Fair tipped-off when he took photos at his son’s junior representative games for Ipswich.

“Well I didn’t bounce out of bed one morning and say ‘I think I might start a Facebook page about basketball’,” Chandler said.

“Initially I started taking photos of Will’s Ipswich Energy team because, when we played

away, a lot of the parents worked or had other commitments so they couldn’t be there.

Fan Fair, Mark Chandler, (left) with his two children, Clare and Will.

“So I started taking photos for the parents who couldn’t make the away games.

“Then I began to get parents from opposition teams asking me for photos. So I told them to look me up on Facebook.

“Not wanting to find myself with a bunch of people I didn’t know on my Facebook

page, I started Fan Force as it was originally called, as a vehicle to share photos and information.

“I was surprised to find that there wasn’t already a page like it in place, there might have been but they were keeping it a secret.

“The name was a play on words, like a Fan Force oven and I was a Fan of the Force, then some things happened to get us to Fan Fair.”

Fan Fair (right) as the courtside announce with Ipswich.

Chandler was then asked to be the courtside announcer at Ipswich Force QBL games before then getting behind the microphone at Brisbane Capitals’ games as well.

“By then the page was promoting any QBL game that was on and people were enjoying seeing the photos,” Chandler said.

However, if you don’t know Chandler, just who is behind the Fan Fair page is a mystery to a lot of the basketball community, something the man running it didn’t intend to do.

Fan Fair (middle) at work as the courtside announcer for the Brisbane Capitals.

“Well that was unintentional at first but then it became my modus operandi,” he said.

“I was so amazed by how much knowledge and passion people had for the game of basketball that I felt like a bit of a fraud.

“Who was I to just turn up and do this. I kept thinking that someone would come over and ask me what I was doing there.”

Chandler said he loved promoting the game, making people laugh with his posts, meeting people around basketball, seeing young athletes fall in love with the sport as well as listening to the stories people tell about the good old days in Queensland.

But he said there was a few moments which stood out during his time as Fan Fair.

“So when I was first involved, if you asked a young player who their hero was they’d say LeBron James or Kevin Durant but if you asked them, and I always did, had they ever gone to a QBL game, they’d say no,” he said.

Fan Fair (Mark Chandler) with QBL legend James Legan.

“But there was hope as I was lucky enough to coach a young team and I asked the boys who their basketball hero was when a young bloke put his hand up and said ‘James Legan because I saw him play and he’s awesome and amazing and he came over and gave me a high five.

“That sentence hit me like a thunderbolt. I knew exactly how he felt. I feel in love with

basketball because ‘I saw him play’ too, people need to see this game I thought.

“Fast forward a few years and it’s not uncommon now for young ballers to have homegrown

heroes.

“I was bowled over the other day when a young girl told a friend of mine that her hero was Geordan Papacostas from the (Brisbane) Caps.

“He’s 17-years-old for goodness sake. But she’s right, he’s one to watch.

Fan Fair in the commentary box at a Brisbane Capitals game.

“But nowadays, for these young athletes their heroes are real, they can literally touch them, they visit their schools.”

Chandler said he would love to see the game promoted even better in the coming years as well as associations creating more club culture, similar to the way football teams have clubhouses for people to gather and socialise.

He said he also believed it was possible for NBL1 games to have more than 3000 spectators in the future.

But as for what’s in store for the Fan Fair character, Chandler said the show would continue.

“As long as people keep liking what I do I’ll just keep on keeping on I guess,” he said.