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Men's Basketball

Friday, December 14, 2007

Commentary: Roughing it at the game

Allen Fieldhouse isn't comfortable - that's what makes it great

By By Mike DeCourcy - The Sporting News

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No pain, no gain.

You do not come to Allen Fieldhouse for comfort. To grumble that you're going to be stuck on a flat bleacher seat for two or three hours watching the Kansas Jayhawks play basketball would be like complaining about having to hang upside down to kiss the Blarney Stone. Some things are worth not only the cost but also the price you must pay.

Allen hasn't enjoyed the same sort of P.R. as Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, but there is no more delightful place to watch a college basketball game than KU's home court.

Allen Fieldhouse is a gym. It is not an arena. It is not a palace of 21st century excess. There are no luxury boxes. Luxury at Allen is one of the few chair-back seats that belong mostly to the big donors. If you purchase general admission tickets to a game through KUathletics.com, you will be warned: "Fans in general admission may have to stand to be able to see the court." That's just how it is.

You come to Allen for basketball. If you're really lucky, you come for one of KU's few afternoon home games, such as the visit from the Miami RedHawks on Dec. 22, when you can get a glimpse of the sun shining through the windows that line the top of each end zone. It's not like it used to be, when the rays would beam through and light up tiny rectangles on the court. The players never were wild about that, so when the building underwent its most recent renovation, before the 2005-06 season, the windows were tinted to reduce the glare. At least they didn't put in miniblinds.

Bill Hougland never got the chance to play in Allen and is faintly jealous of the Jayhawks who have. A member of KU's 1952 national championship team, he moved back to Lawrence in 1991 and hasn't missed a home game since. He has six season tickets, all of them in the bleachers. He doesn't worry about the tight quarters. "I don't think about that," he says. "I'm there to watch the game."

Named for legendary KU coach Phog Allen, the Fieldhouse was built partly as a training facility for the ROTC and opened in March 1955. There was a dirt track around the court then, so the place is more comfortable than it used to be. The school has installed a more modern scoreboard and sound system and expanded the concession stands, which means there are some of the expected spectator amenities.

Visitors are encouraged to show up an hour before game time, but it's worth stopping by the day before to see the students camping out in Allen's halls. With the televisions and laptop computers they bring and available Internet access, it's not exactly hard living, but it does show a commitment to the program - because all the campers already are assured of tickets. They're in line to get the prime seats.

Like all the best college basketball home courts, Allen Fieldhouse features a rowdy student section - with more than 4,000 of its 16,300 seats reserved for them. They have the requisite alliterative nickname - the Phog Phanatics - but, unlike many of their contemporaries, they never give the impression they are trying to be part of the show. Their haunting "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk" chant is a far cry from some of the look-at-me cleverness that's epidemic elsewhere. KU fans are trying to be part of the result, which is an altogether different thing.

"It seems like our fans are really knowledgeable, and we know when our team is down," says Steven Schoon, a senior majoring in sports management. "When KU needs us, it seems like we respond. We want to win every home game. You should win every home game when you have a home like Allen Fieldhouse."

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Comments

Timmay97 (anonymous) says...

Currently living in NJ and having attended KU in '95, I would give anything to go back there and see a high caliber game. Best game I saw there was KU playing Oklahoma State when they had Rutherford and Reeves. KU had Vaughn, Pierce, Lafrentz, Pollard, Haase.

Of all things I remember about this game, it's Jacque Vaughn getting a 10 second violation at the free throw line. When do you EVER see that in a basketball game? It was a great game that KU pulled out in the end despite Rutherford's 40 (or so) points.

December 14, 2007 at 7:04 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

yates33333 (anonymous) says...

I used to worry when the students didn't like a call and would start stomping. I thought the place might fall in. Of course, it didn't. But I loved it. After all these years (44) I still miss it.

December 14, 2007 at 7:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jpstrayer (anonymous) says...

Luckily I have been able to see almost every KU home game on TV since I graduated KU in '89...that's the one thing I miss the most...being in Allen Fieldhouse...the stomping, the general noise level, and the feeling I was crammed in...one of my most treasured memories.

When the crowd is rockin', that has to be a treasured thrill for the players as well...there can be so much energy in that gym.

December 14, 2007 at 8:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

I read this article the other day. didnt tis4tim post it?

December 14, 2007 at 8:57 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ChicagoJHawk (anonymous) says...

jross, yeah he did. I remember reading it too.

December 14, 2007 at 9:01 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Shazam (anonymous) says...

The hard bleachers aren't a problem when you stand the whole game.

December 14, 2007 at 9:12 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

nocaljayhawk (anonymous) says...

When asked to recount some of my favorite AFH moments, I always include that game versus OSU for the Big 8 Title...an afternoon game, as I recall. I remember KU holding "Big Country" scoreless, RR going off for 40+ pts for the 'Pokes, and Greg Gurley cashing in a rare 5-point play in that game. That game and one around the same time against Florida are the loudest I remember it being in afh.

btw, i'll be making my first return to AFH in 10 years for next Saturday's game against Miami, OH. It will also mark my 4.5-year-old son's AFH initiation, and I can't wait. He refers to AFH as "the place with the big Jayhawk" on the court and always talks about how much he loves the cheerleaders. Smart kid.

December 14, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayharchitect (anonymous) says...

nocaljayhawk-

I just got chills when I read that your son will be attending AFH for the first time... I still remember my first time!!! Although, one of the things that stands out in my mind (the track) is gone now. I was so young I don't know who they even played... but it will always stand out as one of those great moments in my life.

And though I am in NY, I will be back in AFH the 29th!!!

December 14, 2007 at 9:40 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ku98 (anonymous) says...

Best game I ever saw at AFH. Senior night, 1998. We said good bye to our seniors, Raef in particular, and that night, we also saw that a junior would likely leave as well. You all probably remember it too, when Paul Pierce caught on fire against Oklahoma in the second half, scoring 16 pts or so in a row, shooting and hitting from everywhere. It was crazy! It still have chills just thinking about it...
Funniest thing I ever saw at AFH, probably Doug Gottlieb with his shorts on backwards, and we all chanted "shorts on backwards!". That was cool.

December 14, 2007 at 9:58 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawk02 (anonymous) says...

Ahhh, what memories. I used to wash the football team's laundry in AFH, so had keys. I would go in there from around 10pm to midnight. I would walk out on the catwalk up in the rafters and just sit there. Talk about hearing the sounds of games past. It was awesome. One of my favorite memories is when Manning and the boys put a 40 pasting on Kentucky (85 or 86 I believe). Anyway, I love AFH and the knowledgable fans. My only complaint is when the fans (students) get upset with a call and start chanting "Bull $hi!, Bull $hi!, Bull $hi!...........
That is something I would expect from Misery or KSU, but I'd hope Jayhawk fans could show a little more class.
Rock Chalk!

December 14, 2007 at 10:08 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

yovoy (anonymous) says...

i remember my ears ringing after a k-state game.
my daughter's 1st trip to afh, was at the game we came back to beat ucla (badly), after being down big in the 1st half.
i remember seeing 2 players, on 2 different teams, 2 home games in a row, score 35+ only to lose at afh.
i remember jacque vaughn hitting the game-winner vs indiana.
i remember seeing the team put 150 on uk.
i remember seeing peeler light woodberry up, only to lose.
i remember seeing d.manning light everyone up, w/out ever really looking like he was trying very hard.
i remember alonzo jamison's quick drop-step-spin to the baseline for a basket or some freethrows.
i remember the sun coming in the windows, and how it made you know that you were somewhere special.

December 14, 2007 at 10:57 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

good memories yovoy...You've picked most of my very favorite.

I was out-of-state during that UCLA game, so I had someone tape it. I believe we were down 15 at the buzzer, and ended up winning by 17. Needless to say, having that on tape was a good thing, because I watched it about 20 times and it never got old. Never seen a tie game in the second have that just looked plain over. ucla looked like they hadn't the slightest clue what to do about it.

That Peeler game was funny, too. All I remember is the announcer going crazy about how awesome Peeler was. "And oh by the way, Jayhawks won, see you next time"

I remember Richard Scott blocking a shot and yelling "Get that $hit out of here" as he did it. That's one that I can't forget for some reason.

Another recurring dream... Raef getting the ball on the right hand side at about 8-12 feet. If they didn't get a big double team on right away, it was over. I would say, "Doh, this guy's getting used". I don't think I've ever seen anything more automatic.

December 14, 2007 at 11:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

toyss29 (anonymous) says...

There are many moments at Allen Fieldhouse...in no particular order
1) Coming to KU as a freshman and being introduced to Late Night, my first time stepping foot inside AFH.
2) Playing Ohio State when we beat Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd.
3) Nick Collision's 23 pt & 24 rbs vs. Texas
4) Senior Day '03 - Eddie Sutton coming over to congratulate Kirk and Nick.
5) Mario Chalmers' floater in the lane vs. Oklahoma
6) Destroying Mizzou on ESPN on Big Monday back in '01-'02 (which is the loudest I have ever heard AFH's student section)
7) Unfortunately, Iowa State's Marcus Fizer turnaround fadeway over Chenowith for the win.
8) Wayne Simien vs. whoever while playing at home...especially Oklahoma State!
9) The greatest first half I have ever seen, although utimately losing the game to Arizona in '02-'03.

There are many more, but I digress.

December 14, 2007 at 12:33 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

eastTXjayhawk (anonymous) says...

nocal, i'll be there for the Miami OH game as well...when i come up i sit with my buddies who have season tix in the top row of the corner opposite the KU bench...who says there are no luxury boxes at AFH, we have our own staircase up to the wonderful skybox, and i nice steel beam for a coat rack.

December 14, 2007 at 12:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabolous_bg (anonymous) says...

These posts are awesome...i could read this stuff all day thinking about the games i was at and the ones i wish i was. Best games i saw were the UCLA game in '95 when we came back and won. That was the loudest game i have ever witnessed. The Georgia Tech OT game on New Year's Day with Will Bynum's dunk in the second half that came out of nowhere. The Ohio St. game that was mentioned earlier. Vaughn's game against Indiana. The quietest moment when ISU 's Stinson hit the game winner....Yelling FOUL! and counting out the fouls. All great priceless memories...

December 14, 2007 at 12:48 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

eastTXjayhawk (anonymous) says...

"a" nice steel beam...sheesh...

December 14, 2007 at 12:50 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

eastTXjayhawk (anonymous) says...

oh, and my favorite game in AFH....Jan '05 with the Gameday crew in town, and we whipped UT...gave me plenty to gloat about upon my return home.

The (non AFH) low point was when Rayford Young lit us up for ~40 in a loss at Tech...way too many TT graduates here to live that down...and the Acie Law dagger last year was a bit hard to swallow as well.
Just please never lose to Baylor...

December 14, 2007 at 12:59 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bg97 (anonymous) says...

i was in the section that started "shorts on backwards". It was even better when they huddled around him so he could fix them during a timeout and the crowd gave him a standing O afterwards. The best though, is when he catches heat on his radio show on ESPN. The other anchors still poke fun of him.

December 14, 2007 at 1:01 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ku98 (anonymous) says...

And Ryan Robertson made his free throws with no time left to win the game. It was Senior Night 1999.

December 14, 2007 at 1:21 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Royaljayhwk (anonymous) says...

I've only been to AFH once and it was not to see a game. It was back in the 1990 when my uncle still worked there as a professor and had a connection. They brought us into the gym and the team was playing pick-up ball and we got to watch for sometime. I was only 6, but I remember very clearly my experience there. Not bad for my only time there!

December 14, 2007 at 1:41 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ohioburg (anonymous) says...

Calvin Thompson's running jumper from about 35' to send the OU game into OT. Unfortunately, we lost.

"Sit down, Norm!"

ALMOST coming back from about about 17 down against Memphis State and Keith Lee.

"All Roads Lead To Dallas" - t-shirts from Late Night with Larry Brown.

"Carl and Kelly - Heart and Soul of the 'Hawks"

I wasn't there but welcoming Wilt back probably had to be an AFH all-timer.

I sure hope they don't keep pushing the students away from the court. It's what helps keep the place loud and special.

December 14, 2007 at 2:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

Loudest I've ever heard it: Vaughn game-winner vs. Indiana. Bobby had to call TO earlier in that game and I thought I was going to lose my hearing.

Scariest Moment (personally): We were playing Brown in the late 80s or early 90s, and a Brown player dove for a ball, crashed into the media tables, and his head started gushing blood. I was little at the time, and I thought the guy was going to die.

Funniest moment: 'Captain Jayhawk' climbs into the rafters and changes the scoreboard against Long Beach St. That was priceless, I loved that guy--too bad he got booted for that stunt.

Best Moment: Seeing Wilt come back in wearing his old letter jacket, I still get a little misty-eyed thinking about that special moment.

December 14, 2007 at 2:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KUbsee69 (anonymous) says...

How many remember AFH with the first 10-15 rows consisting of fold-up bleachers? As long as you showed up for the JV game, you could get a seat on the bleachers, right behind the team.

Anyone remember Vernon Vanoy's last second 3/4 court shot to break a tie and prevent OT?

December 14, 2007 at 2:59 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Yahweh (anonymous) says...

FYI: Never kiss the Blarney Stone. The locals urinate on it regularly and then laugh at the Yanks.

Onto other, more appetizing factoids: I was a ball boy in AHF in the early '90s. Thanks for having me write those letters, Dad. It was totally worth it!

December 14, 2007 at 3:29 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

tdub (anonymous) says...

I'm of the younger breed, but I've been journeying to AFH since I was a tot. My favorite memory is the Texas game my soph year at KU. Collison's double 20's, and the loudest moment I've heard when he cashed the three from the top of the key. A bit of a downer when a bunch of freshman rushed the court, but they were subsequently booed off the court!

I've gotta say, a close second for biggest ear-ringer was the Moody to Giddens shoulder pass that was passed around the board the other day. Go watch the youtube again, the crowd was downright hysterical.

December 14, 2007 at 3:30 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

My favorite field house moments include Wilts homecoming and the 100 years of basketball celebration where they brought back Clyde Lovellette, Darnell Valentine, Danny Manning, Jo Jo White, Dave Robisch, Dean Smith, Larry Brown, the '52 and '88 championship teams, and so many others.

Rock Chalk

December 14, 2007 at 4:44 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

tmorris (anonymous) says...

Absolutely the most earsplitting game was the December 1995 game vs. UCLA (defending National Champs)...we were down 15 at the half and playing horribly...with about 14:00 to go in the 2nd half with us down 1, Jacque Vaughn drove 1 on 1 against a UCLA defender and made a 360 degree move for a layup to put us ahead and I thought the windows in the place were gonna shatter...then Ryan Robertson (a freshman who looked about 15 years old at the time) stole a UCLA pass at midcourt, drove in for a layup, UCLA called timeout and the place went literally delirious...we won by 15 points and I remember Roy Williams said even after he split KU that that was the loudest he'd ever heard Allen Field House. The Wheel was rockin' after the game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

December 14, 2007 at 5:10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

nocaljayhawk (anonymous) says...

I believe that UCLA game occurred on or right around my birthday one year---that was ridiculous. I remember a young PP taking the baseline and throwing it down. Good stuff for sure.

December 14, 2007 at 5:44 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

scootja32 (anonymous) says...

Why is this a "news" article? This seems like an excerpt from the biorgraphy of Allen Fieldhouse. How about some news? What about Sherron's recovery? is he 100 %? Cole Aldrich's developing game? How about an article on how you could legitimately argue having 15 different starting lineups with this crew?

give us something.

December 14, 2007 at 6:10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

OldJayhawkSwimmer (anonymous) says...

I was there from 87-91. First time I was there was my recruiting trip. A group of us recruits was allowed to play on the court with current swimmers. At the other end of the court Milt Newton was all by himself doing 100's of these jump things where he would jump up and tap the rim, over and over and over. No wonder he had such incredible hops.

Anyway, I wasn't from Kansas and was not that familiar with the basketball program etc. so I left the fieldhouse thinking they should tear the place down, seemed kind of dumpy I thought. Eventually I signed with KU and went to my first game at the fieldhouse, holy cow i thought, this is the greatest thing ever. Funny, if someone wanted to replace that building now the tractor would have to run over my dead body.

By the way, does anyone else remember this? "PHONE!!!!!!" oh that was greatness

December 14, 2007 at 10:50 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Someone tell DeCourcy that when AFH was built it was called the Monarch of the Midlands and the House that Wilt Bilt. Someone tell DeCourcy that it was so visionary at the time it was built that it was TWICE, or even THRICE the size of a most of the college campus arenas built for 5-10 years after. Tell Decourcy that UCLA's Pauley Pavillion, built 20 years after AFH in a metro area with of 10 million person only seated 12,000 compared with AFH's near 16,000 (17,000 in the old days). Tell DeCourcy that up until the mid 70s Freedom Hall was the only college basketball arena bigger and that FH was not on a campus. Tell Decourcy that nearly half a century later its still one of the biggest college basketball arenas on a college campus in the USA. Tell DeCourcy that AFH brought college basketball arenas into the modern era by being the first huge, clear span arena on a college campus. Tell DeCourcy that one of the first really big, four-sided college basketball scoreboards hung above center court in an arena on a college campus was in AFH. Tell DeCourcy KU played in a "field house" for 20 years while most of the rest of the "powers" of college basketball were playing in shoe boxes. Tell DeCourcy that KU always has had more and better vision about what was good for the future of college basketball arenas than any other program. Tell Decourcy that when the other top programs finally built bigger arenas, KU stepped back and was the first to say, "Yea, but these bigger arenas are NOT better than AFH--they're just bigger."

December 14, 2007 at 11:35 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Tell DeCourcy that Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Carrier Dome and the Dean Dome and these other new places are just high tech mausoleums that drain the marrow from the game experience. Tell DeCourcy that kids at Duke, Syracuse and UNC haven't really experience a college basketball game in their cribs; they've just experienced what corporations did to college basketball. Tell DeCourcy that for someone to build an arena today that would constitute the same order of magnitude leap in seating capacity that AFH did, they would have to build an arena--not a flipping domed stadium--but an honest to god college basketball arena--that seated around 55,000 persons. Tell DeCourcy that noone has figured out how to build an arena that big that preserves a game experience, but that when a college basketball program finally does have the vision to build a 55,000 seat arena--not a flipping domed stadium mind you--on a college campus that that program will almost certainly be THE University of Kansas. But we won't whore out college basketball just to be the biggest, unless the added size can also create an arena with a basketball experience even better than AFH.

Why?

Because, Mike, this is where it all began. You know who your basketball Daddy is, Mike--all of college basketball knows who its basketball daddy is, Mike, because several generations of Jayhawks have faithfully guarded the holy grail of college basketball for you and everyone else. There is one place where college basketball has not been completely whored out yet and that place is on a ridge called Mt. Oread overlooking the Kansas and Waukarusa River valleys. its not on Tobcacco Road. Its not in New York state, Mike.
When you talk about AFH, Mike, show some real respect, not the smug platitudes a giggolo lays on an old actress at the Oscars. There are no other college baskeball arenas that fit to be mentioned in the same breath with it. The others are just big, or have corporate boxes. AFH is the real thing. Anyone who sets foot in it knows it. You know it. its not some heirloom on a doddering old grand dame. It is the only true link between what basketball is and what it came from. College basketball started in Lawrence, Kansas, Mike. You need to say that several times on national television so we know you get it. Until then, you're just Eastern sports trash grinding out column inches. To borrow from Field of Dreams, Mike, AFH connects us all with what America once was, and what it could be again.

We'll be here guarding the grail until you do, Mike, long after in fact.

Someone's got to.

December 14, 2007 at 11:35 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

RckChalkJeff (anonymous) says...

Oh thank God...now I can sleep tonight...jaybate threw in his 2 cents.....i mean 10 cents...i mean 50 cents worth.....

December 14, 2007 at 11:49 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Good night, RCJeff. Sleep tight.

December 14, 2007 at 11:54 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmkjayhawk (anonymous) says...

I can't pull big-time memories from AFH, in terms of great history. I'm 24 years old and my first experience was the night of Wayne Simien's senior speech (in addition to Langford, Miles, and Lee). The margin of that game was 7 points. The next game I went to was ISU the next season (88-75 I believe). Following that was OSU last January (87-57), and the most recent was ISU again (89-52 I think), so all games just keep getting more and more distant.

But I will say this. AFH took my breath away my first time. Maybe it was because that game was against the team from the town I live in (and I knew the purple people stood no chance); maybe it was because my all-time favorite KU player was playing (Simien); maybe it was just because AFH is AFH. No matter the situation, AFH is the mecca of college hoops venues. Others can argue; they will not win the arugment.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk, GO KU!!

December 15, 2007 at 2:27 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

note: this is not a argument to build a new field house, just a thought experiment to stimulate a budding jayhawk architect

jayharchitect,

Design exercise: see if you can design a 55,000 seat basketball arena. No cost or aesthetic constraints. Only constraint: fans can't be seated farther from the floor than the farthest seat in Allen Fieldhouse.

December 15, 2007 at 10:42 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

OldJayhawkSwimmer (anonymous) says...

Easy Jaybate...just use the raygun from Willy Wonka to shrink us all.

December 15, 2007 at 11:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

I dont know where the venom comes in response to Jaybates discourse. Clearly hes a Jayhawk with a love for AFH. The crime is where? Let the man rant on behalf of his beloved Jayhawks.

Why is it that people with the most profound love of KU get nailed to the wall? Mayer's articles are the same way. People just reflexively criticize him. And why? Because he has a longitudinal perspective of KU athletics that they do not.

I believe it's about envy. Its the only thing that makes sense. To speak at length with vigor on the Hawks should not be a punishable offense except outside of Jayhawk Nation.

Let the man speak!

December 15, 2007 at 12:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jazzttt (anonymous) says...

My AFH memories started in '57 when my late father somehow scored two tickets to Wilt's first game against Northwestern when I was 12 years old. Remember also the steel floors vibrating like crazy with the fans stomping. Belonged to the KUBBS [four or five games for a dollar!] starting the next year, had to suffer thru some lean years, but wish they could still have that program to bring the young fans along. I was at KU from '63-'67, had sideline seats for a couple more years [couldn't afford to donate enough to get those back!] I remember the monumental 110-73 pasting of Nebraska, Henry Iba yelling "Nooo...YEAH!" when one of his players tried and made an ill-advised long shot [still only 2 pts back then], but I'm afraid my longest-lasting memory must be the night KSU sneaked in and rigged the scoreboard with banners which dropped down when they were triggered. Have to hand it to the 'Cats on that one, it stopped the game. Somehow they also sneaked in crimson-and-blue painted chickens to release on the court. I live in Arkansas now, but am glad for the extensive TV exposure. Go KU! Beat Ohio and get even for that '67 football disaster. [But we beat Nebraska the next week.]

December 15, 2007 at 1:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

"Roughing it" at Allen is kind of an oxymoron, isnt it?

December 16, 2007 at 6:21 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

IchabodFan (anonymous) says...

In 1993 I was blessed with reporting on arguably one of the best division II programs in the nation as the assistant SID at Washburn University. As luck would have it, that year marked the beginning of an agreement that allowed KU to play an early season game against the instate Div II teams (Washburn, Emporia, Fort Hays and Pitt State). This meant free admission, a press pass, and best of all a court-side seat (as well as a media guide signed by ROY). I watched first hand as our players stepped on that court hours before the game. Their wildest dreams had come true. They knew this was their judgment day and fearlessly they went to their death. In doing so they gave Kansas one hell of a game. Our All-American center gave the much larger Ostertag such fits that he threw his teeth out in rage to the Kansas Bench. Eventually big-O took an un-noticed cheap shot at our guy, who retaliated getting himself ejected from the game. Roy took O out of for the remainder of the game, in what I believe was pure respect for those who watch from above. He new it was only fair. Its not every day Washburn makes the front page of USA today.

That was the only day in my life I found sadness in a Jayhawk victory.

Go...Fight...Win Jayhawks

December 17, 2007 at 1:15 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

OldJayhawkSwimmer (anonymous) says...

I wasn't being critical, I just thought shrinking us with raygun would be funny.

December 17, 2007 at 3:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )