March Madness is always an exciting time of year. But for anyone from Kansas, it is especially nerve-wracking. And while KU is not the school I attended, nor Vassil, nor anyone in my family... it is, nevertheless, the team we all root for; the one team in our entire state that we have to be proud of!
Compound this with the fact that KU is the first and only college basketball program to be founded by the inventor of the game (James Naismith), and a team with 13 Hall of Famers, 12 Olympians, 11 Final Four visits and two NCAA National Championship teams. It's safe to say that KU is embedded in basketball history, and within the blood of any good Kansan.
To top it off, now more than ever, fans of the Jayhawks are hungry for a victory, especially a victory over Roy Williams, our former coach of 15 years, who never could quite get us an NCAA title, but who got us close on far too many occasions.
Beloved and respected, is it any wonder then that Kansas fans are still left feeling angry and betrayed at his leaving five years ago (has it been that long?) for his home at UNC?!?! After all, it was at this very university, KU - not UNC, that Roy made something of himself as a coach. His winning percentage at KU ranks him first among all active coaches and third in the history of college basketball.
The analogy my stepdad always uses is that Roy's leaving KU was like a nasty, bitter divorce. He left his wife of 15 years (KU) for his college sweet-heart (UNC). And the fans of KU are like the children who were left behind in the wake of this "divorce," the children who are left angry, hurt, confused, and desperate for closure (if not all out revenge).
As you might imagine, a win this year would definitely bring some needed closure to Kansas fans, especially if it's a defeat over UNC!! But will this be the year? As you can see from Elizabeth's cheerleading jersey, we all think so!!! (Thanks Uncle Rick for the photoshop version... too cute!)
Sing it with me, now:
"ROOOOOOOCK, CHAAAAAAALK, JAAAAAYHAAAAWK, KKKKKKKKK-UUUUUUUUUU!!"
P.S. Don't be too impressed with my knowledge of BB stats, unlike my brother and stepdad who have the stats of every game that was ever played at KU ingrained into their subconscious... I had to look mine up: http://www.visitlawrence.com/visitor/history/basketballhistory/
