More than a fan: Jarrod Livingstone’s lasting legacy in Saskatchewan football

For nearly 20 years, Jarrod Livingstone would sit in his wheelchair at the side of the field – whether watching the Regina Rams or the Saskatchewan Roughriders – cheering and enjoying the game he loved.

Frank McCrystal, former head coach of the Rams and Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame inductee, said Livingstone’s enthusiasm was second to none.

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Livingstone passed away on June 6. He was 48 years old and had been born with spina bifida, a condition where his spine and spinal cord didn’t form properly. Despite his condition, he showed up to every football game and practice he could for 25 years.

“His mom and dad would bring him to watch the practice when he was a little guy, so he probably started showing up at practices around 1990,” McCrystal said.

Livingstone’s love for football grew from watching the Rams train at the Scotty Livingstone Field, which had been named after his grandfather, R.C. “Scotty” Livingstone.

“They lived just on the other side of what was called Mount Pleasant at that time” McCrystal said, “but it’s the old city dump.”

McCrystal said he knew Livingstone’s grandfather very well, given he was the Rams director and that Livingstone would hang around lots as kid. However, he didn’t think Livingstone would be able to keep showing up all the time.

“In the junior days, we would run from July ’til November, and he was at every practice, and then we moved to university, and we started a little later, and his mom brought him out there, and he wheeled over in his wheelchair,” McCrystal recalled.

“He’d go into the dressing room, hung around the dressing rooms with the guys, and became quite close to people involved with the Rams and players. I kind of think we ended up taking him for granted, that he was just going to be there, but he was always there.”

Livingstone was someone who not only cared deeply for his team, but someone who cared deeply for people.

“He was fun, he liked to tease people, he wore his heart on his sleeve, very passionate, very loyal, very sensitive to people and things around him, and the social fabric of his life was very eclectic,” McCrystal said, describing Livingstone.

He added that Livingstone’s social circle was broad, in terms of the people he spent time with. One day, he would be with the players after practice, only to then go eat lunch with 70- and 80-year-old seniors on a Friday.

McCrystal said Livingstone not only showed up, but was a major presence in the dressing room. He would become involved with team talks at the end of every game or training session.

“I’m standing there and the kid in the chair is right beside me, and he did that for 20-25 years after games,” McCrystal shared. “We’d circle up and be in the dressing room and he and I addressed the team, he would wheel right up beside me, and he’d be right there. He and I were side-by-side, (for the) post-practice and post-game speech.”

To McCrystal, Livingstone was more than a fan – he was a constant presence alongside the team. His impact was felt by generations of players and coaches, including Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive coordinator, Marc Mueller, who said Livingstone was woven into the fabric of the Rams long before he arrived.

“From my connection with the Rams, Jarrod has always been there, and I started playing on the Rams in 2007 and was fortunate enough to meet Jarrod right away and get to know him. Since the moment I committed to the team in ’07, I talked to Jarrod every day or every second day since then,” Mueller said.

When describing their first interaction, Mueller called it “unique.

“You don’t see very often, where a guy comes in yelling at everybody,” Mueller joked, “but it was good, he was always fun to be around. He’d give it to you, but it was all in good fun and when you saw him, he brought happiness to the locker room and brought happiness to me.”

Mueller said Livingstone was someone who genuinely cared for people and shared how he would call to check in on him and his family.

While his seat in the locker room and his voice on the other end of the phone will be missed, those who knew him said his kindness, humour and unwavering support will remain a lasting part of Saskatchewan’s football community.

“Sport is about team and sharing and community and allowing everyone to take those things that are special about them and add them to the whole,” McCrystal said, “and if you can take what’s special about a number of people, whatever, whatever their role is with the team, and add it to the team, you become stronger and better for it.

“He is very much an epitome of your hope for a team, a sport experience and what comes out of it at the end result.

Editor’s note: This story was changed to correct a spelling errors.