OKC rolls out red (and blue) carpet

By Staff     Mar 8, 2007

Color Jim Cowan crimson and blue.

His iconic restaurant, Bricktown Brewery, is firmly established as the place to be for Kansas University fans flocking to Oklahoma City for this weekend’s Big 12 Basketball Tournament.

Never mind that he’s normally surrounded by Oklahoma Sooners.

“I bleed crimson and cream. I’m a big OU fan,” said Cowan, who owns the place that holds the title as both state’s first legal brewery since Prohibition and KU alumni headquarters for the tournament. “Now I’m all blue, because it’s great on the pocketbook.”

Sure, holding court as a No. 1 seed, standing as a traditional national powerhouse and toting a legion of hoops-hungry fans can make a business owner switch stripes. But can it bring a tournament title?

Mike Davis, senior vice president for the KU Alumni Association sure hopes so. He’s loading up a crew of compatriots and boxes upon boxes of Jayhawk souvenirs for the trip down Interstate 35, where he expects anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 KU fans to file into the Ford Center and nearby watering holes to catch the action.

“It’s an easy drive for a lot of people,” he said.

Of course, another path awaits: the Road to the Final Four, which won’t begin formally until the NCAA Tournament begins next week.

KU headed to OKC

¢ The KU men’s basketball team departs from the southern end of Allen Fieldhouse at 1 p.m. today for a motorcoach trip to Forbes Field in Topeka. The team is taking a charter flight to Oklahoma City.¢ There is no public practice scheduled for the team, which is staying at the Oklahoma City Marriott, about 15 minutes from the Ford Center.¢ A pep rally for fans is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at Bricktown Brewery. For more information, click on www.kualumni.org/basketball.

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