04/11/08
It’s old news now, but about 10:50 p.m. Jayhawks Standard Time Mass Street in Lawrence – or Massachusetts Street for those who have been living under a rock all this time – was home to the biggest party in America Monday.
The estimated crowd of 40,000 crazy Jayhawkers – some clothed, some too happy to leave them on – was definitely Rock Chalk joyous all throughout the night – but seriously, who could blame them?
Don’t get me wrong, I will never be confused as a Kansas fan because, trust me, I bleed for the crimson and crème, but you wait 20 years for another national championship and you deserve to party like it’s ’88 all over again.
Remember, this isn’t just any college town. No, this is Lawrence. The place where basketball was invented and is no longer regarded as a sport but rather a religion. Even that might be shortchanging the Mecca that is Allen Fieldhouse.
However, the party wasn’t just in Lawrence or San Antonio. It was in Kansas City. And Olathe. And Topeka. And in those tiny Kansas farm towns that are just a spec of landscape where young boys dream of one day suiting up for the ‘Hawks and playing in the sacred 53-year-old arena.
Baldwin City was no different Monday night. Just as the rest of Jayhawk Nation all throughout the state was praying for a victory, so too were the Kansas faithful in our precious little village.
Only a short 20-minute drive from the KU campus is our small town, and if you perked your ear high enough, you probably could have heard the reverberations coming from the Mardi Gras-like celebration taking place on Mass.
I doubt those in Lawrence could hear anything coming from its tiny neighbor, but it definitely wasn’t quiet in good ol’ B.C. either.
Places all over the Baker campus were sending out hollers of excitement and groans of disappointment all throughout the game.
In one particular apartment, the room was divided into two sections: those proudly clad in Kansas colors – some actual fans, some just found a seat on the bandwagon – and those adamantly hating the ‘Hawks.
Being the only neutral person in the room made for a solid night of entertainment as each side jabbed back and forth at the other with every bucket that was made. The see-saw battle only fueled the fire as members of each group gained steam down the stretch.
The Memphis section of the room seemed to get complacent as the Tigers held a 9-point advantage with about two minutes left in the game, but the Jayhawks in the room and on the court only got louder.
See, that is one thing that must be said about these Kansas players; they definitely know how to battle through adversity.
Just look at senior Darnell Jackson. Jackson has overcome more than his fair share of trials and tribulations but has always fought back.
His estranged father was shot and killed by an Oklahoma City police officer after allegedly attacking a jogger.
His uncle was murdered, beaten to death with a hammer. Jackson’s grandfather died young and so too did his grandmother. She was killed in a car accident in which his mother was also maimed. The driver of the vehicle who hit them was drunk and strung out on cocaine.
You would think and hope the adversity would stop there for this young man, but it doesn’t. In high school, Jackson found a classmate’s lifeless, murdered body. While he was away at college, a close friend from home, Glen Davis, was shot in the head and killed by members of a local gang.
So, as I watched the game and thought of what these guys had been through, I knew a nine-point lead was not impossible to overcome.
The ‘Hawks got the ball back with a chance to extend the game, which is all they could have hoped for.
Once the game got into overtime, the Tigers had no chance because the best team started rolling. As much as I hate to say it, that is exactly what Kansas has been all year: the best team.
My dad has been a lifelong Sooners fan, so I’m going to apologize to him now and hope he forgives me, but I must join Good Ol’ Roy and give the ‘Hawks their due. So here it goes, but just this once “Rock… Chalk… Jay… Hawk… K… U…”
