My dad is a proud graduate of Kansas State University. He gets that nostalgic smile and those wistful, faraway eyes at any mention of his alma mater, be it Aggieville, Michael Beasley or farming equipment.
He took my brother and me to many a K-State football game when we were younger. Neither of us took the bait. Ever since I became a Jayhawk four years ago, my relationship with my dad hasn’t been quite as easygoing as it once was.
When I ask for money for something college-related, it always takes him a few days to bring himself to write a check to the University of Kansas. I don’t discuss KU sports with him, and I now realize that he leaves the room when I watch a KU game not out of disinterest, but because he’s cheering for the other team. Whenever he’s in Lawrence, he cops a defensive, suspicious demeanor, as though he’s treading on enemy territory.
Despite all this, I know my dad is proud of what I’ve accomplished in college, and though I’m sure he wouldn’t even eat off a paper plate with a Jayhawk on it at my graduation party, he understands that I chose KU because it was the better school for me.
Read Peyton’s personal essay about a more serious father-daughter clash and how she learned to deal with her father’s disapproval and its toll on their relationship.
I knew a boastful Final Four phone call to my dad wouldn’t improve our relationship, but I did it anyway. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
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