Richard Gwin/Journal World PhotoIf driving off into the sunset makes for a happy ending, then the Kansas Jayhawks may be on their way to a national championship.
Coach Roy Williams and the men’s basketball team boarded a bus Wednesday evening at Allen Fieldhouse and drove west toward a picturesque twilight and an airplane waiting at Forbes Field in Topeka to whisk them off to Atlanta.
The team’s departures from Lawrence and Topeka were magnets for faithful followers eager to wish the Jayhawks luck in their Final Four game Saturday against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament.
Sam Scott drove to Lawrence from Topeka to buy an official Final Four T-shirt and because he heard he’d be able to get a closer look at his favorite players as they left the Fieldhouse. It was worth the trek.
“I just shook hands with Drew Gooden and Keith Langford,” he said, sporting an ear-to-ear grin.
Kylie Bland, a self-proclaimed “huge” Jayhawk fan, was a little more interested in the scenery than looking ahead to Saturday’s game. The 16-year-old Lawrence High School student, one of a couple dozen fans who gathered Wednesday outside the Fieldhouse, had her snapshot taken with Drew Gooden.
“He is beautiful,” she said. “This is a great day. It is so awesome. They are all so hot.”
By Terry RombeckTestudo the Terrapin drove 20 hours straight to dishonor Allen Fieldhouse.Then he headed right back to Maryland.The whirlwind trip was part of a stunt by Hot 99.5 Radio in Washington, D.C. The station’s morning show the “Morning Mess” sent personality Teapot Tim to Lawrence dressed as a terrapin, the mascot of the University of Maryland, Kansas University’s Final Four opponent.Mark Kaye, the show’s host, said Tim hitched a ride with a Maryland couple for the 20-hour trip to Kansas.When they arrived, Tim dressed the statue of Phog Allen in a Maryland T-shirt, then urinated on Allen Fieldhouse, Kaye said. Tim was on campus less than 20 minutes.Kaye interviewed Tim, and Tim tried to get KU fans to talk on the air.”We tried to start some stuff,” Kaye said. “They weren’t real talkative to an idiot in a turtle suit.”Kaye said he wasn’t convinced the urination incident actually occurred.”That may or may not have happened,” he said. “I’m waiting to see the pictures.”The photos will be posted on the station’s Web site, www.hot995.com.Lt. Schuyler Bailey said the KU Public Safety Office had several reports of the turtle urinating at the fieldhouse. But by the time officers arrived, the turtle was gone.”Apparently it did happen,” Bailey said.
On a more athletic note, Bland said she expected the Hawks to go all the way.
“I think they’re great,” she said. “I’ve never missed any of their games this season.”
A larger, more raucous throng of several hundred supporters met the Jayhawks at Forbes Field, where the team took to a portable stage in the parking lot and recognized the fans.
“Thank you guys for coming out,” Jeff Boschee said. “This is tremendous. You can’t ask for any more than this. Hopefully, we’ll come back Tuesday and you guys will be here cheering even louder for us.”
Williams told fans he regretted that players wouldn’t be able to sign any autographs. Leaving Topeka just after 7 p.m. wouldn’t put the Jayhawks in Atlanta until close to 11 p.m.
“I want to make sure that they get their rest for a couple days from now,” he said.
Katie Pusch and her friends didn’t seem to mind the brevity of the team’s remarks. The Emporia State University students made the hour-long journey from Emporia just to be sure the Jayhawks left the runway safely. They braved chilly winds until the team’s plane took off.
“We’re die-hard,” Pusch said. “It’s even a school night.”
Fellow Emporia student Katie Miller brought her camera along to document the team’s departure from Topeka. Midway through the brief pep rally, its batteries started to fail.
“I almost started crying,” she said.
But tears or smiles, national championship or not, Topeka 7-year-old Austin Hein, who was decked out in a Jayhawk suit Wednesday night, said he would always stand behind KU.
“I’m proud to be a Jayhawk fan,” he proclaimed.
Staff writer Mindie Paget can be reached at 832-7187.
Richard Gwin/Journal World PhotoIf driving off into the sunset makes for a happy ending, then the Kansas Jayhawks may be on their way to a national championship.
Coach Roy Williams and the men’s basketball team boarded a bus Wednesday evening at Allen Fieldhouse and drove west toward a picturesque twilight and an airplane waiting at Forbes Field in Topeka to whisk them off to Atlanta.
The team’s departures from Lawrence and Topeka were magnets for faithful followers eager to wish the Jayhawks luck in their Final Four game Saturday against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament.
Sam Scott drove to Lawrence from Topeka to buy an official Final Four T-shirt and because he heard he’d be able to get a closer look at his favorite players as they left the Fieldhouse. It was worth the trek.
“I just shook hands with Drew Gooden and Keith Langford,” he said, sporting an ear-to-ear grin.
Kylie Bland, a self-proclaimed “huge” Jayhawk fan, was a little more interested in the scenery than looking ahead to Saturday’s game. The 16-year-old Lawrence High School student, one of a couple dozen fans who gathered Wednesday outside the Fieldhouse, had her snapshot taken with Drew Gooden.
“He is beautiful,” she said. “This is a great day. It is so awesome. They are all so hot.”
By Terry RombeckTestudo the Terrapin drove 20 hours straight to dishonor Allen Fieldhouse.Then he headed right back to Maryland.The whirlwind trip was part of a stunt by Hot 99.5 Radio in Washington, D.C. The station’s morning show the “Morning Mess” sent personality Teapot Tim to Lawrence dressed as a terrapin, the mascot of the University of Maryland, Kansas University’s Final Four opponent.Mark Kaye, the show’s host, said Tim hitched a ride with a Maryland couple for the 20-hour trip to Kansas.When they arrived, Tim dressed the statue of Phog Allen in a Maryland T-shirt, then urinated on Allen Fieldhouse, Kaye said. Tim was on campus less than 20 minutes.Kaye interviewed Tim, and Tim tried to get KU fans to talk on the air.”We tried to start some stuff,” Kaye said. “They weren’t real talkative to an idiot in a turtle suit.”Kaye said he wasn’t convinced the urination incident actually occurred.”That may or may not have happened,” he said. “I’m waiting to see the pictures.”The photos will be posted on the station’s Web site, www.hot995.com.Lt. Schuyler Bailey said the KU Public Safety Office had several reports of the turtle urinating at the fieldhouse. But by the time officers arrived, the turtle was gone.”Apparently it did happen,” Bailey said.
On a more athletic note, Bland said she expected the Hawks to go all the way.
“I think they’re great,” she said. “I’ve never missed any of their games this season.”
A larger, more raucous throng of several hundred supporters met the Jayhawks at Forbes Field, where the team took to a portable stage in the parking lot and recognized the fans.
“Thank you guys for coming out,” Jeff Boschee said. “This is tremendous. You can’t ask for any more than this. Hopefully, we’ll come back Tuesday and you guys will be here cheering even louder for us.”
Williams told fans he regretted that players wouldn’t be able to sign any autographs. Leaving Topeka just after 7 p.m. wouldn’t put the Jayhawks in Atlanta until close to 11 p.m.
“I want to make sure that they get their rest for a couple days from now,” he said.
Katie Pusch and her friends didn’t seem to mind the brevity of the team’s remarks. The Emporia State University students made the hour-long journey from Emporia just to be sure the Jayhawks left the runway safely. They braved chilly winds until the team’s plane took off.
“We’re die-hard,” Pusch said. “It’s even a school night.”
Fellow Emporia student Katie Miller brought her camera along to document the team’s departure from Topeka. Midway through the brief pep rally, its batteries started to fail.
“I almost started crying,” she said.
But tears or smiles, national championship or not, Topeka 7-year-old Austin Hein, who was decked out in a Jayhawk suit Wednesday night, said he would always stand behind KU.
“I’m proud to be a Jayhawk fan,” he proclaimed.
Staff writer Mindie Paget can be reached at 832-7187.
Richard Gwin/Journal World PhotoIf driving off into the sunset makes for a happy ending, then the Kansas Jayhawks may be on their way to a national championship.
Coach Roy Williams and the men’s basketball team boarded a bus Wednesday evening at Allen Fieldhouse and drove west toward a picturesque twilight and an airplane waiting at Forbes Field in Topeka to whisk them off to Atlanta.
The team’s departures from Lawrence and Topeka were magnets for faithful followers eager to wish the Jayhawks luck in their Final Four game Saturday against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament.
Sam Scott drove to Lawrence from Topeka to buy an official Final Four T-shirt and because he heard he’d be able to get a closer look at his favorite players as they left the Fieldhouse. It was worth the trek.
“I just shook hands with Drew Gooden and Keith Langford,” he said, sporting an ear-to-ear grin.
Kylie Bland, a self-proclaimed “huge” Jayhawk fan, was a little more interested in the scenery than looking ahead to Saturday’s game. The 16-year-old Lawrence High School student, one of a couple dozen fans who gathered Wednesday outside the Fieldhouse, had her snapshot taken with Drew Gooden.
“He is beautiful,” she said. “This is a great day. It is so awesome. They are all so hot.”
By Terry RombeckTestudo the Terrapin drove 20 hours straight to dishonor Allen Fieldhouse.Then he headed right back to Maryland.The whirlwind trip was part of a stunt by Hot 99.5 Radio in Washington, D.C. The station’s morning show the “Morning Mess” sent personality Teapot Tim to Lawrence dressed as a terrapin, the mascot of the University of Maryland, Kansas University’s Final Four opponent.Mark Kaye, the show’s host, said Tim hitched a ride with a Maryland couple for the 20-hour trip to Kansas.When they arrived, Tim dressed the statue of Phog Allen in a Maryland T-shirt, then urinated on Allen Fieldhouse, Kaye said. Tim was on campus less than 20 minutes.Kaye interviewed Tim, and Tim tried to get KU fans to talk on the air.”We tried to start some stuff,” Kaye said. “They weren’t real talkative to an idiot in a turtle suit.”Kaye said he wasn’t convinced the urination incident actually occurred.”That may or may not have happened,” he said. “I’m waiting to see the pictures.”The photos will be posted on the station’s Web site, www.hot995.com.Lt. Schuyler Bailey said the KU Public Safety Office had several reports of the turtle urinating at the fieldhouse. But by the time officers arrived, the turtle was gone.”Apparently it did happen,” Bailey said.
On a more athletic note, Bland said she expected the Hawks to go all the way.
“I think they’re great,” she said. “I’ve never missed any of their games this season.”
A larger, more raucous throng of several hundred supporters met the Jayhawks at Forbes Field, where the team took to a portable stage in the parking lot and recognized the fans.
“Thank you guys for coming out,” Jeff Boschee said. “This is tremendous. You can’t ask for any more than this. Hopefully, we’ll come back Tuesday and you guys will be here cheering even louder for us.”
Williams told fans he regretted that players wouldn’t be able to sign any autographs. Leaving Topeka just after 7 p.m. wouldn’t put the Jayhawks in Atlanta until close to 11 p.m.
“I want to make sure that they get their rest for a couple days from now,” he said.
Katie Pusch and her friends didn’t seem to mind the brevity of the team’s remarks. The Emporia State University students made the hour-long journey from Emporia just to be sure the Jayhawks left the runway safely. They braved chilly winds until the team’s plane took off.
“We’re die-hard,” Pusch said. “It’s even a school night.”
Fellow Emporia student Katie Miller brought her camera along to document the team’s departure from Topeka. Midway through the brief pep rally, its batteries started to fail.
“I almost started crying,” she said.
But tears or smiles, national championship or not, Topeka 7-year-old Austin Hein, who was decked out in a Jayhawk suit Wednesday night, said he would always stand behind KU.
“I’m proud to be a Jayhawk fan,” he proclaimed.
Staff writer Mindie Paget can be reached at 832-7187.
Richard Gwin/Journal World PhotoIf driving off into the sunset makes for a happy ending, then the Kansas Jayhawks may be on their way to a national championship.
Coach Roy Williams and the men’s basketball team boarded a bus Wednesday evening at Allen Fieldhouse and drove west toward a picturesque twilight and an airplane waiting at Forbes Field in Topeka to whisk them off to Atlanta.
The team’s departures from Lawrence and Topeka were magnets for faithful followers eager to wish the Jayhawks luck in their Final Four game Saturday against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament.
Sam Scott drove to Lawrence from Topeka to buy an official Final Four T-shirt and because he heard he’d be able to get a closer look at his favorite players as they left the Fieldhouse. It was worth the trek.
“I just shook hands with Drew Gooden and Keith Langford,” he said, sporting an ear-to-ear grin.
Kylie Bland, a self-proclaimed “huge” Jayhawk fan, was a little more interested in the scenery than looking ahead to Saturday’s game. The 16-year-old Lawrence High School student, one of a couple dozen fans who gathered Wednesday outside the Fieldhouse, had her snapshot taken with Drew Gooden.
“He is beautiful,” she said. “This is a great day. It is so awesome. They are all so hot.”
By Terry RombeckTestudo the Terrapin drove 20 hours straight to dishonor Allen Fieldhouse.Then he headed right back to Maryland.The whirlwind trip was part of a stunt by Hot 99.5 Radio in Washington, D.C. The station’s morning show the “Morning Mess” sent personality Teapot Tim to Lawrence dressed as a terrapin, the mascot of the University of Maryland, Kansas University’s Final Four opponent.Mark Kaye, the show’s host, said Tim hitched a ride with a Maryland couple for the 20-hour trip to Kansas.When they arrived, Tim dressed the statue of Phog Allen in a Maryland T-shirt, then urinated on Allen Fieldhouse, Kaye said. Tim was on campus less than 20 minutes.Kaye interviewed Tim, and Tim tried to get KU fans to talk on the air.”We tried to start some stuff,” Kaye said. “They weren’t real talkative to an idiot in a turtle suit.”Kaye said he wasn’t convinced the urination incident actually occurred.”That may or may not have happened,” he said. “I’m waiting to see the pictures.”The photos will be posted on the station’s Web site, www.hot995.com.Lt. Schuyler Bailey said the KU Public Safety Office had several reports of the turtle urinating at the fieldhouse. But by the time officers arrived, the turtle was gone.”Apparently it did happen,” Bailey said.
On a more athletic note, Bland said she expected the Hawks to go all the way.
“I think they’re great,” she said. “I’ve never missed any of their games this season.”
A larger, more raucous throng of several hundred supporters met the Jayhawks at Forbes Field, where the team took to a portable stage in the parking lot and recognized the fans.
“Thank you guys for coming out,” Jeff Boschee said. “This is tremendous. You can’t ask for any more than this. Hopefully, we’ll come back Tuesday and you guys will be here cheering even louder for us.”
Williams told fans he regretted that players wouldn’t be able to sign any autographs. Leaving Topeka just after 7 p.m. wouldn’t put the Jayhawks in Atlanta until close to 11 p.m.
“I want to make sure that they get their rest for a couple days from now,” he said.
Katie Pusch and her friends didn’t seem to mind the brevity of the team’s remarks. The Emporia State University students made the hour-long journey from Emporia just to be sure the Jayhawks left the runway safely. They braved chilly winds until the team’s plane took off.
“We’re die-hard,” Pusch said. “It’s even a school night.”
Fellow Emporia student Katie Miller brought her camera along to document the team’s departure from Topeka. Midway through the brief pep rally, its batteries started to fail.
“I almost started crying,” she said.
But tears or smiles, national championship or not, Topeka 7-year-old Austin Hein, who was decked out in a Jayhawk suit Wednesday night, said he would always stand behind KU.
“I’m proud to be a Jayhawk fan,” he proclaimed.
Staff writer Mindie Paget can be reached at 832-7187.
