Earl Richardson/Journal-World PhotoDAYTON, OHIO ? Hopefully, no one was trying to sleep Friday afternoon at the Dayton Holiday Inn.
And, hopefully, there weren’t any Cal State-Northridge fans lodging there.
The traditional easy-listening hotel lobby music was out. “I’m a Jayhawk” as blared by the Jayhawk pep band was in.
About 125 fans gathered in the team hotel to rally behind the Jayhawks before their 99-75 win over Cal State-Northridge in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Although the Kansas contingent traveling to Dayton was light a result of location and few available tickets fans wanted to show they still could be vocal.
“If we have seen anything in this tournament, it is upsets,” Kirk Cerny, the alumni association’s senior vice president, told the crowd. “And I think a good crowd behind our team can bring a good Jayhawk victory.”
Chancellor Robert Hemenway told the group it needed to build on the support it gave to the KU basketball program last summer, when an estimated 16,300 fans showed up at Memorial Stadium to hear coach Roy Williams announce he was staying at KU.
“We need 16,300 in Minneapolis to hear Roy say, ‘We’re staying in this all the way,'” he said.
Following the speeches, chants and music, fans lined the hotel hallway as the Jayhawks filed toward the team bus. One man could barely contain his excitement as Williams trekked toward the door.
“Here comes Roy!” the man announced. “There he is right there. Here he comes!”
The pep rally got fans like Brad Loudon in the mood for basketball. Loudon graduated from KU in 1997 before joining the Army. He and two friends drove three hours from Fort Knox, Ky., for Friday’s game. They said they landed $60 scalped tickets for the game just $10 more than face value.
“The last NCAA Tournament I was at was the 1988 championship,” he said. “Hopefully, it will repeat itself.”
Stacy Block of Overland Park, who is attending her first NCAA Tournament with her family, said the pep rally was better than those at Blue Valley Northwest, where she is a sophomore.
“They’re going to win” Friday, she said. “They’re going to the Final Four.”
And the Jayhawks’ keys to success?
“Give it to (Jeff) Boschee,” she said with a grin. “And they need to put (Chris) Zerbe in.”
The fans weren’t the only ones excited to be at the tournament. Natalie Goodwin, who plays piccolo in the pep band, said the tournament was the highlight of band members’ season.
“We’re pumped,” the junior said. “We’re here to support the team and KU.”
Cheerleader Samantha Stewart said the tournament also was a highlight for her squad.
“It’s really exciting,” she said. “It’s one of our most exciting times as cheerleaders. The only time we get to travel with the team is tournaments.”
Stacy Jennens, who works at the front desk at the team’s hotel, said she couldn’t believe how passionate KU players and fans were about their team.
“They’ve got the hats, the jackets, the pins everything,” she said.
The Jayhawks’ spirit has even rubbed off on Jennens, who was wearing a KU T-shirt Friday.
“I could feel the butterflies in my stomach when the fans and players started arriving,” she said.
