THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012
BASEBALL
PAGE 9
An inside account: weekend trip takes its toll
MITCH COLAHAN mcolahan@kansan.com
Bags line the hallways, people rushing in and out with their backpacks and briefcases, a normal Thursday in the McCarthy Family Clubhouse. The Kansas baseball team is preparing to load up for a trip down to Stillwater to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
As managers, our main job is logistics, make sure nothing is forgotten when the team leaves for Oklahoma. We spent the night before laying out the jerseys and
travel bags for each player making the trip. Now we scan the locker room and the rest of the facility to make sure no equipment is left behind.
Once the bus is all packed up for the entire team and staff is aboard for the four-and-a-half hour trip, the aisle of the bus becomes a jungle of bodies and limbs as everyone tries to find the most comfortable position to nap or relax. The bus pulls into Stillwater around 6 p.m. and 20 minutes later we are on our way to practice at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. After practice, everyone goes
their separate way to relax and prepare for the next three days.
Traveling with the team as a manager is different than as a player. Throughout the next three days we try to make the players and coaches' lives a little easier. While most college students are partying their weekends away, we are traveling the country, ballpark to ballpark because we love baseball. Our jobs do not have much glamour. Before each game we help with batting practice and after each game Carlos Ramirez and I have the inglorious job of collecting the wet
and rancid clothes from the players for laundry. The fun for us is during the game. Carlos, Alec Hall, Jake Nelson, Travis Ice and I record video and chart the games for scouting reports. The film will be used by the players and coaches between series, or at least we hope.
Friday starts off with a morning hitting session for the team. Then after a few hours of relaxing and a pregame meal at McAlister's we go back to the ballpark for game one. On Friday, the guys batted but just fell short losing 7-6. While everyone on the team is usually a fun
bunch, on a night like tonight our job is to pack everything up and just stay out of the way. They are, for good reason, pretty upset.
By Saturday morning, as we eat breakfast at the hotel, everyone is back to their relaxed self. During the pregame meal senior catcher James Stanfield and I play several different games of Friends with Dice to pass the time. It is a sloppy and wet Saturday so the team has batting practice indoors. Once again the game does not go our way, so we are back to the hotel to rest up, sort through clothes, video
and homework hoping to bounce back Sunday.
While this trip was a little tough for the guys, traveling and working for the baseball team is usually a great time. Whether we are in Nashville, San Antonio or Stillwater, we think we have the coolest college job ever, because we work at a ballpark.
— Edited by Tanvi Nimkar
LAWRENCE
Local fan group 'Mass Street Mob' cheers on Sporting KC
MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE
Los Angeles Galaxy defender Tommy Meyer and Sporting KC forward C.J. Sapong battle each other for control of the ball at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., on Saturday. Sporting KC won, 1-0.
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
On the side street of 10th and Massachusetts, the Mass Street Mob gathered for the Sporting Kansas City game.
But this is not the angry, pitchfork-carrying mob that's often portrayed on television. This mob wears matching powder blue shirts and scarfs. This mob sings and claps for their team. This mob, is the second biggest supporting group in the KC Cauldron — Sporting KC's raucous fan section.
So the Mass Street Mob members waited off Massachusetts St. for their buses. They guarded eight 30 packs of Budweiser and Bud Light, in anticipation for Sporting KC's game against the Los Angeles Galaxy, last year's Major League Soccer champions.
"This is going to be wild," Drew Rich, a mob member and Kansas alumnus said.
Then two busses pulled up, with the words "Redy 2 Party" painted across them. Beers were passed out instantly, as it was time to celebrate the Mob heading to it's home — Livestrong Park.
While the group was expecting 60 people to attend Saturday's game against the Galaxy, 100 fans showed up. It's twitter account has 432 followers and its Facebook page has 132 likes.
In only one year, the group has grown from 20 soccer-loving friends in Lawrence, into something bigger.
"It started up last year and it blew up" Mob founder Daniel Novin said. "It came out of nowhere."
One drunken night, Novin, Rich, and their friend Adam Crisasi, decided to act on an idea. The three of them frequently watched soccer games the Red Lyon Tavern on Massachusetts St. For them, it was time to put something together with the soccer fans they knew in Lawrence. They had followed the Kansas City Wizards as it re-branded itself into Sporting KC.
"Basically we knew there was a lot of people in Lawrence that liked soccer," Crifasi said. "We just wanted to group them all together to have a good time."
And a good time is exactly what they were having Saturday.
The Mass Street Mob came
to life on the bus ride. The Mob began to practice the cheers that they would soon be singing for 90 minutes of action.
Finally, it was show time. The Mob made its way into Livestrong Park, took their seats together in the Cauldron, and began to sing and cheer with the other Sporting KC fans.
In front of a sellout crowd, two popular Major League Soccer teams battled back and forth. And the day got better for Sporting KC fan's when Forward Kei Kamara scored in the 40th minute, to give Sporting a 1-0 lead that they would finish with.
And on their way out of the stadium, all the way home to the Red Lyon Tavern, the Mass Street Mob continued to sing. And one of their hymns seemed so fitting.
"We love ya, we love ya, we love ya," the Mob sang. "And where you go we'll follow, we'll follow, we'll follow."
Edited by Tanvi Nimkar
This week in athletics
Monday
Men's golf
Cowboy Classic
Scottsdale, Ariz.
All Day
Women's golf
Knights and Prates
Invitational
Melbourne, Fla.
All Day
Tuesday
Baseball
vs. Wichita State
6p.m.
Lawrence
Men's golf
Cowboy Classic
Scotttsdale, Ariz.
All Day
Women's golf
Knights and Prates
Invitational
Melbourne, Fla.
All Day
Wednesday
Baseball vs. Wichita State 6:30p.m.
Wichita
Thursday
Softball
vs. Wichita State
5p.m.
Lawrence
Softball
vs. Wichita State
7 p.m.
Lawrence
No Event Scheduled
Friday
Baseball
vs.Texas
5p.m.
Lawrence
Tennis
vs. Missouri
5p.m.
Columbia, Mo
Baseball
vs. Texas A&M
6p.m.
Columbia, Mo.
Saturday
Softball vs. Texas 2p.m. Lawrence
Baseball
vs. Texas A&M6
6p.m.
Lawrence
Men's golf
The Western
Intercollegiate
All Day
Santa Cruz, Calif.
Rowing
Knecht Cup
All Day
Camden, N.J.
Track
UTEP Invitational
All Day
El Paso, Texas
Sunday
Softball
vs. Texas
12p.m.
Lawrence
Men's baseball
vs. Texas A&M6
1p.m.
Lawrence
Men's golf
The Western
Intercollegiate
All Day
Santa Cruz, Calif.
Rowing
Knecht Cup
All Day
Camden, N.J.
Soccer
vs. Iowa
11a.m.
iowa City, Iowa