Security found in basketball season

Monday, November 1, 2010

It’s basketball season.

Those three words are used like a security blanket around this campus. If something bad happens, such as this year’s football season, students attempt to seek comfort in those three words. And in a way, Allen Fieldhouse can become like another world where you can escape and forget about what’s happening in your own personal life.

Does that sound crazy? Probably a little, but for some people that’s the reality of it. After all, you do have to be a little crazy to sit on a hard floor inside Allen Fieldhouse for days waiting to for your escape into the world of Jayhawk basketball.

Tonight the Jayhawks take on the Ichabods of Washburn University in their first exhibition game, and finally students who are looking for some joy in their lives will be able to find relief in Allen Fieldhouse.

If you’re a freshman or only a casual sports fan and have never been to a game in Allen Fieldhouse before, I strongly encourage you to go and give it a try. There’s a reason why basketball at Kansas is so famous. The team is good, the fans are great and the atmosphere is one of a kind.

Exhibition games will be the perfect chance to try out Kansas basketball if you’re a newbie, too. There were around 10 camping groups already in line at 6 a.m. Monday. For Big 12 conference games, there can be anywhere between 40 to 100 groups at the first chance to begin camping. That makes it very difficult for anyone who isn’t in a camping group to get a good seat. Exhibition games aren’t only good for the players to get warmed up for the season, but for new fans, too.

Camping is an efficient way for students to line up for the game, but it sounds complicated when trying to explain how it works. I could try and explain it but that would only take too long and you may still not understand. So tonight, get there early and see for yourself how camping works. In fact, I would recommend just walking down to Allen Fieldhouse anytime today and talking to some of the campers in there. You may be lost trying to jump in the camping process in the middle of the season.

One thing is for sure: if you make it there tonight you’ll know what I mean when I say that attending basketball games at Kansas can be like an escape from reality.

— Edited by Anna Nordling

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