Monday, April 7, 2008
A sea of blue scattered all around Allen Fieldhouse. News crews surrounded the court and photographers took pictures of crazy fans decked out in crimson and blue garb. The mascots jumped around the court and the band played music to get the fans pumped up. Just another scene of Allen Fieldhouse during a home basketball game, right? With two minutes left before tipoff, there were no players on the court and the baskets weren’t set up.
Don’t fret Jayhawk fans. This was not an episode of Ashton Kutcher’s “Punk’d,” and Kansas wasn’t the laughing stock. Instead, fans came to Allen Fieldhouse to watch the Jayhawks’ game against the University of North Carolina on the video board.
Fans got there early and sported their Kansas spirit with Jayhawk apparel from head to toe.
Fans that didn’t get a chance to snatch a coveted hot spot on Massachusetts Street or grab tickets to the game in San Antonio got the experience without ever leaving campus. Russel Paulsen, Topeka sophomore, said Massachusetts Street would be too packed and decided that Allen Fieldhouse was a safer bet.
Getting up early to wait for the bars and restaurants around Lawrence was not an option for Monisha Bruner, Leavenworth freshman, who didn’t want to get up that early for such a late game.
Others believed in superstition and wouldn’t want to watch the game any other way.
“Kansas hasn’t lost this season since I’ve been in the fieldhouse,” Chris Pham, Hays sophomore, said. Others decided that watching the game at Allen Fieldhouse and traveling downtown after the game would be fun, such as Sam Keller, Cincinnati, Ohio freshman, who was “still going to party afterwards” to celebrate the victory.
As snippets of Kansas came onto the screen, fans cheered louder and the energy was felt around the fieldhouse. In between commercials, fans got up and cheered while waving flags and doing “the wave.”
Even though the Hawks were nowhere to be found in a 50-mile radius from the fieldhouse, the energy was high, and fans cheered just as if the team was on the court.
“I wanted to come here to get the experience of being at the game without actually spending all that money to be there,” Jacki Gariglietti, Pittsburg freshman, said. Like Gariglietti, many came for the experience and just wanted to be amongst other Jayhawk fans in a place that was special to them and their families.
The Jayhawk fans kept all the traditions at the fieldhouse the same, such as joining together and singing the alma mater followed by the rock chalk chant. Even the band played upbeat songs that got fans into the game during halftime and commercial breaks. Big Jay and Baby Jay gave away T-shirts to the fans to help continue the spirit of the fieldhouse.
Fans booed when UNC coach Roy Williams’ face appeared on the screen, and roared and applauded when Cole Aldrich slammed the ball away from UNC’s hands.
The Kansas spirit could have been felt all the way in San Antonio as the crowd grew louder and realized that the Jayhawks would be going to the national championship on Monday. Although not all the fans could witness the Jayhawks defeating the Tar Heels on Saturday night in the Alamodome, the atmosphere made fans feel like they were there.
Fans can experience being at the game in San Antonio without having to pay the big bucks by watching it at Allen Fieldhouse again tonight. The doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the event is open to the public. Tipoff will be approximately at 8:15 p.m.
— Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
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