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KU vs. Winston-Salem State

To hear Marvin Warkentine, 83 and a resident of Peabody, tell it, experiencing a game in Allen Fieldhouse was worth the wait.

Warkentine, seated halfway up Section 16, held a sign that read: "83 and never been to a college game."

He sat with his granddaughter, Niki Thiessen, a sophomore from Topeka majoring in communications and journalism.

"I told my granddaughter I'd like to see a ballgame one time in Allen Fieldhouse," Warkentine said. "She said, 'Granddad, these games are hard to get tickets to.' Then she called me up and told me, 'I got you a ticket, and I'm coming to get you.' ''

Thiessen drove Monday to Peabody, brought her grandfather to the game Tuesday and was driving him back home after the game.

"She's got to take me back because I have a couple of doctor's appointments (today)," Warkentine said.

The difference between watching a college game on TV and live?

"I can't even describe it," Warkentine said. "It's so much better to be here. With everything going on it makes you just want to go, go, go."

Warkentine said he had been a regular at Peabody High games through the years, but never had seen any level college game until Tuesday.