128 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FINALFOUR
FRIDAY,APRIL4,2003
Kansas basketball fans have superstitions of their own
By Laura A. Clark
correspondence@kansan.com
Kansan correspondent
Dirty socks, sweat-encrusted T-shirts, stained pants. Nope, it's not laundry day. It's game day.
Some aspects of Kansas basketball seem to inspire superstition. Sophomore guard Keith Langford changes shoes at halftime if he feels his performance is lacking. Sophomore forward Wayne Simien just doesn't feel right if he doesn't put on his jersey in a certain way.
Even though the top Jayhawk himself, Roy Williams, says he's not superstitious, he'll likely make that trip to the Mississippi River to launch some saliva, as he has in previous years.
Superstition is not limited to the team, though. Whether it involves clothes, food or personal rituals, many Kansas fans find themselves giving in to superstitions.
While superstitions are technically irrational, for some students it seems to serve a psychological purpose.
Scott Creel, Chicago junior
wears the same suit the jayhawks wear during warm-ups to show his school spirit. He said he knew it didn't actually help the team, but his superstition helped get himself and others excited for the game.
"My only superstition is to wear the velour suit," Creel said. It's the only thing I've got to do so we win."
For other fans, it's all about location. Kelli Wilhite, Olathe sophomore, won't watch basketball games at bars. Since she watched Kansas' defeat to Maryland at a bar in last year's national semifinals, Wilhite has sworn off the combination of basketball and bars.
"I'm not superstitious in general, but when it comes to basketball, it helps me because I get nervous. It's a relax factor for me." Wilhite said.
This season, Wilhite has watched all tournament games with her best friend Trisha Shrum. Olathe sophomore. However, Wilhite left for New Orleans yesterday, while Shrum remained in Lawrence. Without the comforts of her superstition,
Wilhite will still watch the game, though she does not have tickets.
The success rate of a particular superstition is what makes it important. Once a superstition fails, it's time to pick another one. Or, if you're like Jordan Smith, St. Joseph, Mo., junior, just add another to the collection.
For each game, Smith wears a blue KU shirt and a pair of KU socks, being careful to always wear the same sock on the same foot each time. He also keeps a bracket on which Kansas is the only team written in all capital letters. Smith doesn't shave during the NCAA Tournament and smokes a cigar after every victory.
Like many other students, Smith says Kansas basketball is the only thing he gets really superstitious about.
"It's kind of dumb, but it seems to be working. I do it because I feel like if I do those things, they will win. It's a mind set," Smith said.
Edited by Leah Shaffer
By Justin Henning
Kansan senior staff writer
jhenning@kansan.com
Stores brace for championship sales
Bv Justin Hennina
Kelley Weiss/Kansan
Approximately 50,000 new T-shirts could be printed in Lawrence in less than 72 hours.
Well, that, and a basketball victory tomorrowand Monday night.
Angella Yarnell, Lawrence resident,picks out a Final Four T-shirt at a tent with Jock's Nitch and Prairie Graphics products. Yarnell joked that she was wearing her Final Four shirt from last year and said,"Here I am again buying another Final Four shirt, you'd think the shirt I have on was from 1988, but it was just last year."
All it takes is a phone call and the flip of a printing press switch to make it happen.
Right now, few of them have prints on them. The rest look like any other blank, white shirt, idly waiting in boxes for a chance to bear the banner of National Champion 2003.
Other local sports apparel stores have similar plans in the event of a national championship. Jayhawk Spirit, family owned and located at 935 Massachusetts St., has already been through the 1988 championship.
Brian Hoffman, manager of The Sports Dome, 942 Massachusetts St., said he had an exclusive design and press lined up, as well as a business plan.
"We stayed open till 5 a.m. and reopened at 8 a.m." manager Willy Wilkerson said.
"If we win Monday night, I'll keep the store open till 3 or 4 a.m., then take a nap in the back, regroup and reopen at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning," he said.
But Massachusetts Street is not
But Massachusetts Street is not the only place that would have late-night hours in the event of a Monday victory.
Maggie Wilson, buyer for Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road, said the store might have some shirts for sale Monday, but that they would definitely have shirts Tuesday.
"People have this idea that you have to get things right after the game," Wilson said. "It's not you snooze you lose. People can still come in and get a perfectly nice Final Four T-shirt today or tomorrow."
Yet with all the potential late night sales, security becomes an issue. Riots erupted and cars were set on fire at the University of Maryland after its team won last year and Michigan State even had riots after its team lost in this year's Elite Eight.
"I could see it get out of hand," said Hoffman, who hired a security guard to work with him if he stays open until 4 a.m. "Between here and campus, I don't think anything's safe."
Edited by Leah Shaffer
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