My Obsession #1: Kansas Jayhawks Basketball

Ask anyone who knows me at all and they will tell you I'm a big Jayhawks fan. I love to watch Kansas Basketball more than most anything. And I've about had it with people asking me why I love KU Basketball since I did not go to the University of Kansas and have never lived in the state of Kansas at all. So I thought I'd take a brief moment to explain myself.

First, I love the history behind the Jayhawks. Their first basketball season was in 1898 led by Head Coach Dr. James Naismith. If you are a basketball aficionado you would know that he was the inventor of the game. The building in the picture above is Allen Fieldhouse, where the magic happens. It is named after the second Head Coach at KU, Dr. Forrest "Phog" Allen. Quick caveat, in 112 seasons of basketball KU has had only 8 head coaches. And no that was not a typo, 8 (count 'em) head coaches. The Fieldhouse is arguably the greatest venues for college basketball in the country. Of course, my bias is that the Fieldhouse IS the greatest arena in college basketball. ESPN Magazine named it the loudest college basketball arena in the country. Take a look at this video and imagine you were sitting in the away team's locker room preparing for the game. All of a sudden you hear the entire arena chanting in unison. Intimidating, right? It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

On top of the history Kansas also has results. They have won 5 national titles. Two of these were Helms Foundation championships in 1922 and 1923 (under the supervision of Coach Allen when Kansas was the dominating force in the game) so they don't count to our total of national title wins because they were given before the instillation of the NCAA National Championship Tournament. So Kansas only have 3 credited to their name but they all sure look pretty hanging in the Fieldhouse.

I took this picture during Late Night in the Phog at the start of last years basketball season. It was glorious. The entire arena was filled from floor to ceilings, all 16,300 seats, with KU fans (more on this later). Blue and Crimson everywhere you looked, but this is the way all home games are. The Fieldhouse has sold out over 150 consecutive games.

Not to mention KU currently the longest-running home game win streak of 69 straight wins. They play Texas in the Fieldhouse on Saturday so I'm a bit nervous. Kansas has not lost at home since 2007 against Texas A&M. This is a big deal for KU fans, let me tell you. For me, this fact is bragging rights and I get so anxious when we play tough teams at home. Kentucky holds the longest home win streak ever and I would LOVE for Kansas to beat it because my hatred for the Kentucky Wildcats runs deep. They stand between us and being the greatest program of all-time statistically speaking. Of course, I will always say KU is the greatest basketball program because, well I love it. I must mention one more fact that I love about Kansas before I get into why the Jayhawks are my team and that is that no other team has won more conference titles than Kansas. They have won at least a share of the title for the last six years in a row and have won 53 conference titles.

Now for why I am a fan. The facts above get my blood pumping but they are in no way the REASON why I love Kansas basketball. Let me explain. My mom's family is all from Kansas. My mom was born in Kansas and my grandpa still lives there. Both are pictured here. My Uncle Thad was the first person to introduce me to KU when I was 8 or so. I remember finding a sticker he had put on the closet of my grandma's house, but my grandpa is where my love for KU was feed (more on that in a minute).

In high school, I was not much of a sports guy. It wasn't until watching March Madness my senior year with my church youth group that I decided I would like to become a more devoted fan. I watched KU occasionally my freshmen year of college, but mostly just to call my Youth Pastor when Kansas beat Oklahoma. I watched more intently the next year and found many friends who were KU fans who collectively inspired me to begin to feed my obsession. I spent that Spring Break at my grandpa's and we watched EVERY game of the tournament that was on while I was there. Whether or not it was Kansas, we still watched it. It's one of my favorite memories of Grandpa Beryl. That was the same year KU won the Championship thanks to Mario's Miracle. I've realized recently that we're kindred spirits. While my entire family was watching football on Thanksgiving this year I went down starts to watch basketball by myself. When Grandpa called from Kansas he was watching the same game I was. I love my grandpa. Speaking of the Championship. Let's took a look at that miracle:

With this shot, Mario tied the game and it went into overtime. The rest is history. We won 75 to 68!!! Rock Chalk. I took the picture below. It's the National Championship Trophy and the Association of Basketball Coaches Trophy. Aren't they beautiful?

I've spend some time in Lawrence and it's wonderful. I could totally live there. My friend Ben and I have been to one game together in the Field house. We went to the University of New Mexico State game against KU in the Fall 2008 when KU annihilated them. It was so much fun begin in the Fieldhouse for a game. Then in 2009 we went to the Fieldhouse for Late Night in the Phog.

These are my friends (from left to right): Darci, Mike, Ben, and Brian before the doors opened. As you can see we were in line early to get great seats. The door to get in was just behind us. The lines for the event stretched around the block. It was crazy. I loved it. My friends are a big reason for my obsession. We text each other before, during, and after games to discuss the greatness of KU. We all love the program and where Bill Self is taking it. We discuss what the team needs to be doing better, which for the #2 team in the nation is way more than I'd like to admit.

Ben stuck around after Late Night and got all but two of the players signatures. I took tons of photos of the event and had them printed and label all of the players in each picture. I sent the program with the signatures and all the pictures to my grandpa and he LOVED it. If you knew my grandpa you would understand how hard it is to really connect with him. So for me that's what Kansas Basketball is. It has brought me closer to the people I love and I will never give that up (no matter how many people struggle with the idea that I'm from Wyoming, went to school in Oklahoma, but love Kansas).