As a lifelong Kansas University basketball fan, Karen Pauls, 64, thinks of the players as her sons. So when players flee the Jayhawk nest, saying goodbye can be difficult.
During a Thursday news conference, junior guard Brandon Rush and sophomore forward Darrell Arthur declared for the 2008 NBA draft.
“In my heart and my husband’s heart we’re really, really going to miss them,” she said. “They are still going to be our family, but they are just going down a different road now.”
That’s just the positive attitude necessary to deal with seeing KU players go pro, according to Lawrence psychologist John Spiridigliozzi, president of Psychological Resources Inc.
It’s understandable fans feel grief after investing time and emotions during a KU basketball season. That investment creates an identity with the team – and the community, Spiridigliozzi said. But saying goodbye doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, he said.
First, take a step back and take your emotions out of the picture, he said. After all, leaving college to make millions of dollars in the NBA is a logical decision that fans should support, Spiridigliozzi said.
Besides, KU recruits some of the best players in the nation, he said.
“There are always going to be better players down the road. People can look forward to that,” he said.
Plus, there are other sports. When Pauls was saying goodbye to the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on their way to the Sweet 16, she noticed the women’s softball team across the street. So she’ll follow other KU sports and “root and toot and support them too,” she said.
“This kind of gets in your blood a little bit,” she said.
