Generations of Kansas Fandom
Two events last week drove home the value of family connection when it comes to sports, and more specifically, Kansas athletics
This newsletter will jump back into analytics in a couple of weeks with a breakdown of the season. These were just some thoughts that came to mind right as the season ended.
My three-year-old son has shown bits and pieces of enjoying sports during his few years. He tends to be drawn towards baseball and soccer right now but with basketball on the TV for four straight days, he started asking to play it a little more frequently. My family does a bracket challenge for bragging rights every year, and this year I asked my son to help fill one out with me. Obviously at this age his decision-making method is mostly based on mascots or words he finds funny, but it was still a fun activity.
When I went back to do his bedtime routine the Tuesday before the tournament started, I had him sit on my lap as we walked through his choices. My heart swelled with pride when we got to the second round and he said, “Jayhawks again!” There was a slight sense of dread when he hesitated on the Kansas-Missouri matchup, but he eventually made the right decision. Unfortunately, Kansas’ run in his bracket ended in the Elite Eight thanks to his love of saying “Norfolk State.” While Norfolk State ended up losing in the Round of 32, they provided another moment of connection later in the week.
My son’s bedtime is usually around 8:00, and his routine happens to overlap with quite a few Kansas basketball games. I’ll usually check the score a few times while I’m back there in between books or while he’s using the bathroom. Seeing as how this is the NCAA Tournament, I asked him if we could watch it while we rocked in his chair. As the game was ending, he asked if Kansas was going to win. I had to say, “No, it doesn’t look like they’re winning tonight.” His response? “Maybe they’ll do better next week.”1 I had to explain that their season was over, but we could watch them again in about eight months. He waited a few seconds and then asked, “When does Norfolk State play?” I told him that they played the next day, and he said, “We can watch them together.”
I’m assuming that at some point every parent wants their child to have at least somewhat similar interests to them, and this was definitely one of those moments for me. While I’d like to say we watched all of Florida’s dismantling of Norfolk State together the next night, he probably only watched about five minutes before asking to watch something else. That’s okay. I’ll take the small wins. I’ll keep working to convince him to root for Kansas and wanting to watch their basketball games with me next season. Maybe at that point I’ll push his bedtime back a little so we can see the end together.
Kansas Athletics announced last weekend that Bob Davis had passed away on Friday, March 21st. Davis and Max Falkenstein were the voices of Kansas athletics as I was growing up. We didn’t have cable in our house so if Kansas wasn’t on CBS (or later on the CW), we were listening to the game or taking a ride to my grandparent’s house if the game was big enough. Hearing about Davis’ passing brought me back to some of those moments and some of the memories I have of my childhood.
We lived “out in the country”2 and part of our Saturdays during the fall were spent picking up trimmed or fallen branches, stacking them into big piles, and burning them at the end of the day. It was sold to us as helping to keep our yard looking neat, but looking back on it, I’m sure it was my parent’s way to get us outside to burn some energy. Some of my favorite memories growing up were listening to Kansas football games with my dad while he we watched the flames dance around the burning sticks and leaves. One of the earliest games that I can remember listening to with my dad was the Kansas-Colorado football game in 1998. Kansas football obviously wasn’t in a great spot at that point, but listening to Davis describe David Winbush run all over a ranked Colorado team led to a lot of joy and high-fives between me and my dad. Listening to those games was something simple that we could do together on Saturday nights. At least it was until my sisters and I got older and were working, hanging out with friends, or involved in extracurricular activities.
There are two basketball games where Davis’ voice became a soundtrack to my memories. The first was the Kansas-Florida game in 2006 at the Las Vegas Invitational. The game tipped off at 9:00 CST and on ESPN. Because of this, I ended up listening to the game back in my bedroom while everyone else in the house was falling asleep. If you don’t remember, Florida was coming off a National Championship and widely favored to win it again after returning everyone. This game went into overtime thanks to a Joakim Noah tip shot with three seconds left and didn’t end up ending until closer to midnight, but it was the first time since Roy Williams left that I truly pictured Kansas winning a national championship. Davis was the voice describing every Julian Wright drive, every Darrell Arthur jump shot, every Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers pass. That year, I hung every single Wichita Eagle sports page from the day after Kansas games on my wall, inspired by the early upset.
In 2009, Kansas was playing Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen and a snowstorm came through our area knocking out our power. While a loss in the tournament wasn’t the most positive memory, listening to the game with my family while the electricity was out was special. It’s something that hasn’t happened since that point, and there’s a reason that remains one of my foremost memories. I went to college the next fall and haven’t watched (or listened) to many Kansas games with my family since that time. In other words, it was essentially the last time my family was together for a game. Part of that was just my being away and living my own life. Part of that is due to my moving states once I graduated from college. It’s bittersweet, but certainly a memory that I’ll continue to hold. Now I’m grateful to have my own family to create more memories.
Bob Davis was incredible at helping you understand what was going on in a game when you weren’t there. He was descriptive, passionate, and knowledgeable in a way that is lost with the expansion of television broadcasts. Brian Hanni is also fantastic, but I’ve always felt a sense of nostalgia when I think about sports and music. What you grew up with tends to stick with you longer than things introduced later in life. It’s why your music tastes don’t change much as you get older or why you still root for the same sports teams you did when you were younger. That connection builds up as life goes along, and the memories of Davis commentating Kansas games continues to be a lasting piece of my Kansas fandom.
Between the conversations with my son about March Madness and the memories of the time spent with my dad, it’s become clear that Kansas athletics is something that is going to span generations in my family. It’s something that I love, and knowing that other people that I care about that love it adds an extra level of value to it. Family and sports are things that seem to go hand-in-hand for me, whether it was taking a 45 minute drive to watch my oldest sister play basketball every other Friday when I was five or six years old, taking a two hour drive to watch a different sister play collegiate soccer when I was fourteen or fifteen, or texting yet another sister during Kansas games in my 30’s, sports has constantly brought my family together. My wife is an LSU alum, and one of the things that we’ve bonded over is her love for LSU football and my love for Kansas everything. Sports has integrated itself into my family life since I was young, and it will likely continue with my son whether he is on the team or playing in the marching band.3
Hopefully you have someone in your life that you can share all the ups-and-downs of Kansas basketball with, whether that’s family, friends, or just a group of people who enjoy the same things you do. It’s something that can help cheer you up after a tough loss or give you someone to celebrate with after a big win. There’s a good chance my son will play sports and experience the same highs and lows, and there’s also a chance he’ll end up enjoying watching sports as much as I do. If he doesn’t do either, that’s okay. But if he does, he’ll have someone to celebrate the wins and comfort him for the losses.
Even while the clock was running out on this season, his optimism was still a positive sign for the future!
In quotes because we lived 10-15 minutes outside of town. It wasn’t truly out in the country, but it was different than what a lot of my friends experienced. We had a little bit of land, so we say it’s the “country” despite it being close enough
He’s currently obsessed with instruments and music, and if that’s the path he chooses I would be ecstatic.
Loved this! Similar experience with my 4 and 3 year old, but they both picked the Hawks to win it all. Need a long run next year to get them fully bought in.