Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Election Day is a polarizing event.
So many people working so many hours supporting their candidate, and for several it’s a fruitless effort.
Someone must lose.
While democracy ran its course outside in the real world, Allen Fieldhouse welcomed voters young and old to celebrate the coronation of the 2008-09 Kansas Jayhawks. Judging by the Washburn fans who cheered to the final buzzer, nobody lost.
On a night when less-devoted fans planted their butts at home to watch hours of Election Night blabber, a near-capacity crowd filled the Fieldhouse to witness real change, the kind of change that only occurs when a national championship team loses five players to professional basketball and ushers in seven newcomers.
No election decided the leadership of this year’s team. Had there been, coach Bill Self could have campaigned on taxing babies and still won in a landslide.
Kansas’ leader makes every move and decision without the hiss of second-guessers. He earned that bliss by fulfilling every campaign promise last season.
This term, his Cabinet closely resembles last year’s and familiar faces fill the House, but seven new Senators grace James Naismith Court.
Most of the team started its term in August, exhibiting its skills in exhibitions north of the border. Then, running mates Marcus and Markieff Morris joined the administration as the campaign prepared for Late Night in the Phog.
Self’s inaugural speech on Oct. 17 stirred the crowd into a frenzy. Like any great speech, it left the masses excited and starved for more.
Tuesday night, KU fans finally got another glimpse of their leaders.
Cheers for the incumbent president soared to the rafters and shook the freshly printed banners of last year’s administration.
Self glad-handed the refs and waved to the crowd, all with a smile bright enough to win over the 18 to 35 crowd.
Old faces and new ones accumulated on the court to whip Washburn with offensive precision rarely seen in preseason basketball. The Jayhawks shot 61 percent from the field and 47 percent from beyond the arc. The latter earned them key electoral votes from downtown.
Sure, lapses occurred. But overall it was a rousing victory for Kansas.
Assured a victory, masses of Jayhawks headed for the exits with 11:29 remaining. My guess is they were headed home to catch the tail end of the blabber and witness the announcement of America’s next leader.
But I ask you, what’s more American than the crimson, white and blue?
— — Edited by Adam Mowder
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