Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I arrived on campus several years ago a starry-eyed, self-proclaimed Kansas sports expert. Being from Baldwin City (about the closest thing Lawrence has to a suburb) and raised in a family where KU sports came second to nothing, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on Jayhawk sports.
Who was only player in KU history to make every three-pointer he ever attempted? Scot Pollard — one-for-one. How many Kansas football games have finished in a tie? 57 — an NCAA record.
Of course, my ego has been severely thrashed since then, but never more so than this week — the week of the Kansas Relays.
You see, I sat down a couple of days ago with the intention of writing a preview column for the event. Shouldn’t be hard, I thought. After an hour of staring at a blank Google Documents screen, my ignorance in glaring evidence, I decided it was time to do some research.
Good thing, too, because, as it turns out, there’s a lot of tradition packed into the Kansas Relays that I simply didn’t know about.
The first meet was in 1923. Its fathers were the famous duo of John Outland (for whom the trophy awarded to college football’s best interior lineman is named) and Phog Allen. Through the decades, the event grew into a certifiable Event, drawing Olympians and future reality television stars such as Bruce Jenner and local legends such as distance runner extraordinaire Jim Ryun.
The meet also served as an opportunity for the best in Midwest high school track to face off.
Olympians and world-record holders competing right here in Lawrence? Sounds pretty cool. Maybe like the sort of thing you’d like to go watch if it were still happening. But the Relays couldn’t bring together that sort of lineup nowadays, could it? What with all the hubbub surrounding a Kansas basketball team that’s months away from tipping off and the speculation about the conspicuous absences of two Kansas football players, there’s just not enough interest in track and field to create an Event... right?
Oh, I’m sorry — that’s incorrect. We would have accepted any reasonable variation on “absolutely dead wrong.” Sure, the name Kansas Relays may not have the same cache it did in the ’50s, but that doesn’t mean the level of talent competing has dropped off.
High school track stars from the heartland still descend upon Lawrence, eager to prove their skills on a stage they share with All-Americans and Olympians.
And there will be All-American talent on display. Some will even be representing the Jayhawks (the Relays are, for all the pomp and circumstance, still a home meet, after all).
How about record-holders? Check.
Alan Webb runs the mile in 3:46.91. That’s the fastest time any American can muster, and he’s here competing.
And about those Olympians...
Bershawn Jackson just won a bronze medal in Beijing. That’s impressive by itself, but did I mention his nickname is Batman? I should, because it’s totally badass and way cooler a distinction than being on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” Not that I’d know who is on that show, because I’ve totally never even seen one episode.
All digressions and Bruce Jenner jokes aside, the Kansas Relays are an event — check that, an Event — that Kansas sports fans should be more aware of.
Tradition extends beyond the hardwood and gridiron, after all, and ignorance of it is never bliss.
— — Edited by Chris Hickerson
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