February 28: News Headlines Digest
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@Crimsonorblue22 I actually hadn’t paid attention to the fact that he said that but you are correct, I just like the word though! I spend all day going through repetitive scripts, gotta stretch my vocab somehow during the day.
@nuleafjhawk Anything i can do to contribute to the board my friend!
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@oldhwkfan No worries about the disagreement. I welcome lively debate, and we are all KU fans here and I have never encountered anything other than respect here. You are no different.
To me this statement says it all: “if they’re not in the title hunt, it’s only the diehards who care”. I believe that whole paragraph just described bandwagon fans. If you’re only in it for the good times, you’re a fair-weather bandwagon fan. Not sure how you can call BS on that, when you in essence described to a T what it means to be a bandwagon fan.
Yes it is easier to be excited about your team when you are winning. I don’t doubt the level of excitement & rabidness increases when teams are winning. I’m a Raiders fan, so yeah, it’s hard to get excited for football season. However, my allegiance never wavers. I didn’t become a Broncos fan all of a sudden because the Raiders are down. I’m silver & black in my football fanhood. And that’s the difference in a HUGE portion of their fans now. People who had never before been WSU fans, and were in fact KU fans, have now jumped on the black & gold bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong, if those fans are that fickle I’m glad to be rid of them. But to me it’s as maddening as people saying “I’m a KU basketball fan, & a KSU football fan.” To me, when people say that, it means they are a true fan of neither.
Saying Wichita State has always been a mid-major is a cop out. According to Wikipedia, the only conference older than the Missouri Valley is the Big 10, and some very good schools have emerged and moved on from that conference. KU? Cincinnati? Most of the former Big 8, Iowa, Memphis, St. Louis, Tulsa, and most recently Creighton…all former MVC schools. So if WSU wants to mope about it’s situation as a lowly mid-major, I don’t feel sorry for them. They should have moved out of that conference. You say they’ve always been a mid-major, I’d say that conference is a mid-major. That conference is a stepping stone for universities to improve themselves by moving on to bigger & better things, much like the coaches at those institutions. If they failed to capitalize and get out, that’s on them. They probably have missed their window, as not having football really cripples them in today’s conference realignment climate. So you’re right, they’re probably screwed.
As far as their scheduling goes, yes it has to be hard to get teams to play them. I have a couple ideas on this though. First, if I’m WSU, I go up to a few of the big boys and say “we can’t compete with the same level of recruits as KU, but you can. How about a home-and-home series that would give you some visibility in KU’s backyard?” And by big boys, it doesn’t have to be UNC, Duke, Kentucky, etc. But maybe the second tier or third tier of schools after that. The Arizonas, Florida, Ohio St, Villanova, Cincinnati, etc. Maybe that works, maybe it doesn’t. The other thing I think Wichita State should have been doing since the Turgeon years is an idea that ESPN practically handed them with the bracket busters games. Schedule other high-quality mid-majors. VCU, the Brad Stevens Butler teams, Gonzaga, Nevada, etc. A quick look at their schedule this year suggests they may have been attempting a touch of that, with games against St. Louis (their marquee win), Davidson, & Tulsa. And lastly, if you really want games against top-tier competition, you might have to bite the bullet and offer a one game deal at your opponents’ gym. You don’t see KU making return trips to Towson do you? The little guys have to do the traveling to play the elite. The problem is that WSU thinks they are above this now. Well, from a competitive standpoint they are above it. But if you can’t get anyone to play you, the reality is they are not above it. So to me, you can either take a lesser schedule and deal with the criticism, or you can take steps to improve it. Or you can do what Wichita State is doing, and whine about it not being fair.
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“And that’s the difference in a HUGE portion of their fans now. People who had never before been WSU fans, and were in fact KU fans, have now jumped on the black & gold bandwagon.”
Really? Most of the fans I’ve always seen at a Shocker game are 50-somethings… or 60-somethings… I know during games tv wants to show the craziness of the student section, and they show that at Shocker games, too… but I’ve always been under the opinion they have a rather small student section, especially when compared to KU.
I think the older crowd doesn’t shift quickly to any bandwagon. However… I do think many people are buying more Shocker gear because entrepreneurs have been busy pumping out tons of Shocker gear. I’ve seen some of it and sometimes it made me rubber neck… “huh… what the heck?”
Wichita has plenty of KU fans… but most of the town members are Shocker fans. I remember a million years ago going to a Shocker football game there and the stadium was packed. And their team stunk! I’m sure it didn’t always work out that way because they no longer have football.
I keep hearing rumblings that football will return to Wichita. Anyone else hear that?
It doesn’t make sense for anyone in Wichita to be against WSU. WSU brings business to Wichita. And it is the only D1 option for miles!
ICT - you know… I think you are on to something. I know the Shocks don’t want to just come to Lawrence to play for a paycheck… but what if they try to book big boy teams in Sprint? I’m sure there are enough Shocker fans that would love to go up to KC once or twice a year for a game with a big boy team! Maybe if that works, they can eventually work something out with KU. In fact… why not just do an annual WSU vs KU game at Sprint? That pays big revenue to KU and they never have to travel south of the flint hills. I’m certain it would be a big sellout every year and tv dollars would be gigantic!
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I like to write the word “cower”… especially when it pertains to some of our opponents!
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@drgnslayr Well, maybe I’ll quantify that as saying a HUGE portion of the fans I encounter. It is true that a large portion of Shocker fans at the games are 50+ in age. Isn’t that the case with KU games though? Kids don’t have money for season tickets. Heck, I’m no “kid”, but I don’t have that kind of money laying around. You are also correct that their student section is not as large as KU’s. In fact, the local news just did a piece last night about a handful of WSU fans that were camping out in the cold weather for good seats, and there were literally like 3 or 4 tents worth of students.
As for football, that rumor has been going around for awhile. 15 years ago or so I was attending WSU and did a paper (or speech for my public speaking class) about the likelihood of WSU bringing back football. I spoke to a number of administrators, and at the time the prognosis was bleak. One of the main reasons was Title IX, which states that equal funds must be allocated for women’s sports as men’s sports. That includes scholarships, and I was told they would have to create about a half dozen women’s sports just to compensate for the scholarships necessary for the creation of a football team. I really don’t know that they are any closer than they were 15 years ago, but I could be wrong.
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You are the guy to ask… how did they lose their football?
I recall the tragic plane crash, but football was around after that.
KU games have lots of older folks, too… but a lot more students. I angered some people at KUSports a while back for insisting we give the first 5 rows around the court to students. It helps the atmosphere in a huge way! I said that someday we are going to lose our status as having the best basketball game atmosphere because of all the old people sitting court side.
Come on… watch a KU game carefully. Cameras can’t ignore the first few rows around the court. When something happens where the fans are going nuts, it contrasts completely with some of the camera footage that shows old people sitting down and not even clapping. Half of them don’t even seem to be paying attention! It is friggin’ embarrassing! Just because these people obviously are all millionaires doesn’t mean they can just sit there without participating!
I’ve heard several other schools have addressed this by putting students near the court. I know the revenue is an issue… but seriously… doesn’t Jayhawk basketball generate enough money?
Or if the uber rich want to keep those tickets they have to start participating with plenty of energy! We can have spotters in the crowds watching… and when these fans are caught sleeping through games, it goes on tape and they then have to defend ownership of their season tickets. Make them pay gigantic fines for being boring fans! They can afford it… and the fine payments will offset the ticket revenue losses from those who lose their season tickets to students in “ticket court!”
Lets face the facts… the crowd nearest the court is also representing our school. Proper behavior is required!
I loveeeee this idea!
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@icthawkfan316 just saw the news, 5 tents in Marshallville!!!
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@oldhwkfan why do you think Marshall didn’t take the UCLA job?
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@drgnslayr ask Lew Perkins.
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@drgnslayr Well it was before my time, but my understanding was that it just wasn’t financially tenable to keep football around. Now trying to build one back from the ground up has to seem like an impossible task.
You got me curious as to if they had in fact been any progress, so I’ve been looking at articles about them possibly reviving the program. There was apparently an effort to get a club team started by a group of students that would eventually hand over the team to the university, at which point it would be an NCAA team. In response to this movement, Wade Robinson (Vice President for Campus Life and University Relations) was quoted as saying "My suggestion is that everyone who is interested in playing football while enrolled at Wichita State should contact the Kansas Cougars or Wichita Wild to still continue their education and pursue playing football,” That tells me all I need to know about how serious the administration is about bringing football back.
(The Wichita Wild is a professional indoor team, and the Kansas Cougars are a club team that I have never heard of).
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Where is Lew Perkins? Is he still retired? I used to visit with him at games.
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@drgnslayr many WSU fans say Perkins killed their fb program. I don’t know that much about it.
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many WSU fans say Perkins killed their fb program
@Crimsonorblue22 I think they give Lew a bit too much credit…
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Yeech! That link didn’t exactly make Lew sound good. He presented himself well when I spoke with him. It seems that he left a trail of darkness behind him wherever he went.
Kind of hard to imagine how he got that Maryland gig after WSU.
I never understood how WSU landed Lew. Lew always seemed like a east coast mobster.
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@bskeet probably, I don’t really know much about that. Had a high school fb coach from, think heights, told me that too.
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What I don’t like about Marshall is that now, when they are good, he mouths off about playing us. He probably said it when he first got there, but not as loud. And trying to act like it is in our best interest to play them is just so obviously wrong. Also, don’t forget that after they beat us in 81 with all that talent, they went on probation. Pretty serious recruiting violations as I recall.
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I’m so tired of hearing about WSU- mostly Marshall! But, they are on espn tomorrow and about 60-70 media people there. Bob Knight is also there and expected to interview Marshall. I guess you all can watch!
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@drgnslayr-Lew reminds me of Abe Vigoda-Barney Miller (Fish) & Godfather (Tessio).
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@globaljaybird
A+
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@approxinfinity Am going out the door. Maybe you could get this on a new thread as I don’t have time right now Thanks. Chicago Curie HS forfeits wins after using 7 ineligible players-
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/28/4856366/high-school-of-ku-basketball-signee.html
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@globaljaybird “And starting at center, out of Portland, Oregon, a 6’10” sophomore, Landen Lucas … "
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@HighEliteMajor-Could be…Ben & Jamari set out a year.
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@drgnslayr Lets hope we gear up for a run of domination and make everyone cower when they see they have to play us in the tourney!
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My hopes and prayers are there… we know they can do it!
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@drgnslayr absolutely right! This team can do anything they focus on and pput thier minds to. We all saw it when we played UT the second time around. I know it’s hard to get up like that every night but if they can get blazing hot and play at a high enery level consistenly for once, we will cut down those nets!(and then mail them to Marcus Smart) I kid!
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@HawkInMizery perfect!!!
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I would be willing to send a 1/32" string from the net to OSU. They should have something to display in their trophy cabinet!
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@drgnslayr Do they even have a trophy cabinet built down there?
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@HawkInMizery Not so much a cabinet. A vault. Where T. Boone Pickens keeps his concession stand money.
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@nuleafjhawk Well I guess they have that to hang their hat on. I’m glad us Hawk fans have other things to hang ours on. I have a lot of hats, and I may start running out of them as I have to keep hanging them on all these things we have! I almost feel bad for OSU’s fan base…almost.
