Lehigh graduate in Lawrence has ‘fingers crossed’ for tonight

By Janet Reid     Mar 18, 2010

Richard Gwin
Mel Klein, a 1955 graduate of Lehigh and current Lawrence resident, will be whooping it up for his team, which plays KU Thursday, March 18, 2010 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City.

An unfamiliar fight song echoes from Mel and Phyllis Klein’s northwest Lawrence home.

The couple, decked out in brown and white, have little doubt for whom they’ll cheer in the Jayhawks’ opening round matchup with Lehigh University in the NCAA Tournament.

It will either be the Engineers or the Mountain Hawks.

“Go Mountain Hawks! That doesn’t ring,” 1955 Lehigh graduate Mel Klein said. “Go Engineers! Now that has something to it.”

Lehigh officially changed its mascot from the Engineers to the Mountain Hawks in 1995.

Klein said that whatever you call them, he’ll be rooting for his alma mater to pull off the unlikely upset. After all, he spent one year playing basketball for the college in Bethlehem, Pa.

“The odds are way against Lehigh doing anything memorable in this tournament except being there,” Klein said. “I don’t have too much hope, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that they can represent themselves well.”

Stranger things have happened.

Klein recalled the last time KU played a Patriot League champion team in the tournament. Jayhawk fans would rather forget KU’s stunning loss to Bucknell during the opening round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

“Anything’s possible,” Klein said. “Remember, that’s why they play them.”

Klein and his wife, who moved to Lawrence in 2002 to be closer to their daughter and grandson, plan to watch the game on their big screen at home where they can cheer on the underdog in private, although they’re not shy about where their loyalty lies. They drive around town in a car with a vanity plate that reads LEHIGH.

Yet Klein said he didn’t follow his heart when it came to filling out his bracket.

“I picked Kansas all the way,” he said. “I’m a fan, of course, but I’m not stupid. Gee whiz.”

All joking aside, the Kleins love Lawrence and love cheering for the Jayhawks, except for when their two favorite teams are playing each other.

“Now I’m conflicted,” Klein said. “We hold our fingers crossed and hope, but reality says KU is going to beat them. I just hope it isn’t too bad.”

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