By Mark Fagan     Apr 4, 2003

New Orleans ? Judy Kasson isn’t taking any chances during her trip to New Orleans for the Final Four.

Those crimson-and-blue Mardi Gras beads she bought before the season started aren’t coming off her neck until Kansas’ season is over — hopefully after Monday night, with the Jayhawks as national champions.

“I’m leaving them on all the time — at night, in bed. I’m going to sport them the whole time,” said Kasson, who left town Thursday afternoon for the Big Easy along with five friends. “I’m just a crazy KU fan. I’ll wear them in the shower, as long as the colors don’t run off. It’s just one of the things I’m superstitious about.”

Kasson is being joined on the road by Gwen Leonard, Sadie Deaton and Bev Mater of Lawrence. They’re making the drive with Overland Park residents Bill and Marilyn Klinkenberg, who own a roadworthy van that’s made previous tournament trips to Denver; Memphis, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; and other NCAA sites.

Road couplings

Several couples are making the long trip to the Big Easy.

KU fans Brent and Melinda Kassing are coming in from their home near Orlando, Fla., where they enjoy watching former KU stars Drew Gooden and Jacque Vaughn playing for the NBA’s Magic. But they love nothing more than watching the ‘Hawks, and made it back to Lawrence this season for Late Night with Roy Williams and the game against UCLA. They also traveled last month to the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Dallas.

This week, their 3-year-old daughter, Regan, is along for the ride.

“(She) loves wearing her Jayhawk cheerleading uniform and learning about all the players,” Melinda Kassing reports. “She recites the ‘Rock Chalk Jayhawk — Go KU’ and waves the wheat!”

Other couples hitting the road:

• Marc and Ashley Buhler, who will be staying at the Hilton on the Mississippi River.
• Kevin and Patty LaGree, 1971 KU grads now living in Indianola, Iowa, already had plans to be in the Big Easy, “but to be there with our team is a thrill,” Patty LaGree reports.
• KU grads Greg and Abby Schieber scored their tickets as part of the NCAA’s public lottery, which was conducted months before the tournament field was set. “That’s how much confidence we had in the Jayhawks,” said Abby Schieber, who attends KU School of Law.
• Fairway residents Allison and Matt Taylor are 1998 grads and lifelong Jayhawks who attended all of last year’s tournament games and look forward to hooking up with their growing list of road-trip friends. “My parents always told me that the Jayhawks were one big family, and we have truly been able to see that as we have traveled,” Allison Taylor said. “It’s amazing how a KU win makes everyone around you a new friend!”
• KU student Cassie Gilmore and her boyfriend leave today for a chance to see former neighbors Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich bring home a title. “More than anyone they deserve to win this championship, because I know all the sacrifices and hard work they have been through,” Gilmore says.
• Tonganoxie resident Ken Mark, a business and accounting professor at Kansas City Kansas Community College, is bringing his wife and two children to New Orleans. At least one of the offspring — 2002 Bishop Seabury graduate Brendan Mark — is making sure to keep his bases covered. “I received permission from my professors at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa,” Brendan Mark says. No word on whether Ken Mark has lined up a substitute for himself.

Long time coming

KU alumnus Dick Myers is flying in from Denver to Houston, then making the six-hour drive on Interstate 10. In New Orleans he’ll meet a bunch of friends, many of whom he hasn’t seen in more than 20 years.

He’s been following the ‘Hawks since the mid-1950s, when a family cousin, John Parker, played for KU alongside Wilt Chamberlain.

“I wouldn’t miss the chance to see Roy Williams lift that championship trophy,” Myers said.

Sister act, part II

Rebekah Gaston is hoping her second lottery victory pays off even bigger than her first.

Gaston, a first-year law student at KU, is coming to New Orleans with her sister, Elisabeth. As students, both won the ability to purchase Final Four tickets through the KU ticket office. They hit the jackpot by registering for the ticket “lottery” before the tournament even began.

But Rebekah Gaston already has one lottery win under her belt. In 1993 she was a winner in ESPN’s “Fab Five Fantasy Basketball Weekend,” and secured seats when KU advanced to the Final Four.

KU lost that time in the semifinals, but the Gastons are counting on a luckier outcome this time around.

“Rebekah entered 10 postcards under my dad’s name, because she wasn’t the required age of 18,” Elisabeth Gaston said, of her sibling’s early victory. “Rebekah didn’t get the perfect ending, but maybe she will now.”

Autograph anxiety

Jill Cousins, of Prairie Village, is making her first Final Four trip along with her mom, Mary Jo Cousins, and brother, Dane Cousins.

She admits to being nervous, and not because of the competition: “My only problem is when I see the players, I have no clue what to say to them.”

Texas toast?

After years attending Final Fours without much to cheer for, James Brushwood is happy to have his Jayhawks in the fold for the second consecutive year.

Brushwood, a student at Texas A&M, reports being “as die-hard a Jayhawk fan as they come.” He’ll be in New Orleans with his dad, a KU alumnus.

“It’s great to finally have KU there the last two years,” he said.

No word on whether he’ll be pulling for A&M archrival Texas in Saturday’s other national semifinal.

Missouri misery

Brothers Troy and Travis Glynn are forsaking the resort atmosphere of their home at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks for a chance to immerse themselves in even more excitement in New Orleans.

They’ve already driven to Lawrence 15 times this season for games at Allen Fieldhouse. Now they want more.

“This is sweet,” Troy Glynn reports. “We live … amongst all the Misery (Missouri) fans, and just a few short weeks ago we had to endure the loss to Misery in the Big 12 semis. Now we get the last laugh.”

If KU wins it all, plenty of Missouri fans will have to live with the pain. Travis Glynn is head golf professional at Indian Rock Golf Club, and he’s already secured permission to fly his KU flag out front for a week if the Jayhawks are national champions.

“I can’t wait to see that happen,” Troy Glynn said.

Listen up, Bob

Bruce and Ellen Janssen are trucking in from the Kansas City area, and they’re equipped for the long haul in their pickup: a few choice beverages, a couple cigars, clean underwear and their “lucky” KU T-shirts.

And some advice for Bob Hemenway, certain to be grappling with rumors this weekend about KU’s coach being sought by North Carolina for its now-vacant coaching job.

“If I have the opportunity to see the chancellor, I’ll point out to him that unless he stills the waters on this Roy Williams thing pretty darn quick, (athletic director) Al Bohl is not going to be the only guy in Lawrence, Kansas, that’s soon to be out of a job.”