Jayhawk fans a bunch of followers

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

It isn’t even November and already Kansas sports fans are traveling en mass to see their favorite team. A 7-0 start to the football season has reinvigorated a recently apathetic fan base, making it no longer glib to just fanatically follow the perennially ranked basketball team.

Kansas sold about 1,600 tickets to Saturday’s game against Colorado, but the Athletics Department estimated more than 3,000 Jayhawk fans were at the contest. Colorado reported 51,940 in attendance.

Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said the team’s success has spurred ticket sales in all venues. The Jayhawks have sold out their Nov. 3 contest against Nebraska and the Nov. 23 game in Arrowhead Stadium against Missouri.

Marchiony said there had been a run on tickets to Kansas’ last home game Nov. 16 against Iowa State and the Athletics Department expected more of that this week.

“Kansas football fans have been terrific for a long time,” Marchiony said. “All it takes to get that base growing is more wins. Coach Mangino, his staff and the players are proving that, so I expect the crowds to keep getting bigger.”

Kate Jayne, Park Ridge, Ill., senior, has seen all seven KU games in person after traveling to Manhattan and Boulder. She said she could envision a time when Jayhawk football fans would follow the team with the same voracity as the school’s basketball fans.

“I could definitely see that happening,” Jayne said. “It will take time. This year will definitely make an impact on next year and beyond.”

At Colorado, the pro-Kansas crowd, although only a percentage of total patrons, was emphatic. The Rock Chalk chant showered Folsom Field from different pockets of the stadium as the Jayhawks knelt the ball and bled the remainder of the clock to hold onto a 19-14 victory.

Kansas fans then sang the Alma Mater as dejected Colorado players sulked from the field.

Sarah Hogan, an Eagan, Minn., senior who also traveled to both Manhattan and Boulder, said she was surprised by the large contingent of Jayhawk fans because of the long drive.

“If we would have played like we did last year, we wouldn’t have driven eight hours to watch them play,” Hogan said.

Hogan already could see the perils of apathy creeping into another team's fan base. After experiencing nonstop scorn in Manhattan, the senior said she was only mildly bothered in Boulder.

“We got harassed by Colorado fans, although they were a lot friendlier than K-State fans,” Hogan said. “We talked to some CU fans the night before, and I think they were expecting to lose anyway.”

With success comes expectation. The Jayhawks will be road favorites again on Saturday as they travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M. Marchiony said the Athletics Department had sold about 1,000 tickets as of Monday morning.

— Edited by Jeff Briscoe

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