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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Commentary
THURSDAY,OCTOBER 11,2001
Brandon Stinnett Columnist sportskansan.com
Sports fans' basking not so terrible
Sometimes the passion that sports creates brings out the beast in people
Shortly after the Kansas football team's predictable 41-17 loss to UCLA last month, an altercation occurred between two groups of passionate football fans at Quinton's Bar Deli, 615 Massachusetts St.
A small group of raucous Bruins fans eating at the restaurant began chanting UCLA's fight song, prompting retaliation from a small group of Jayhawk fans, who naturally answered by reciting the Rock Chalk chant.
The restaurant's management intervened before the heated chanting erupted into a full-blown brawl, and peace was restored.
Though confrontations between sports fans are not an everyday occurrence, Matthew Perry, a manager at Quinton's, said tempers often flared after Kansas loses big games. If the Jayhawks win, Perry said, alcohol sales increase and patrons are more jubilant. The effects are even more noticeable during basketball season especially after games against
— especially after games against heated Big 12 Conference rivals.
Jaime King, a server at Henry T's Bar & Grill, 3520 W. 6th St., said customer generosity on game days depended on how well the Jayhawks had performed.
"If KU loses, tips aren't so good," King said. "If KU wins, then people throw money at you."
Some say fans whose temperament depends on the performance of their favorite sports team need to get a life. Psychologists say they're just BIRGing.
BIRGing is an acronym for a theory psychologists call "basking in reflected glory." It's when people, wanting to feel better about themselves, take credit and feel responsible for the success of others.
Sports fans want to be associated with winning teams, and often distance themselves from teams that lose.
Rick Snyder, professor of psychology, points to a study by Arizona State University psychologist Robert Cialdini that demonstrates this phenomenon. Cialdini observed the number of students wearing sweatshirts with team logos the Monday after weekend football games at six universities across the nation.
The results show that substantially more students wore sweatshirts with a team logo after victories. After losses, the number of people observed wearing logos dropped dramatically.
"People want to be successful." Snyder said. "They can't do it by themselves always so they identify with a team"
Some criticize fans for placing such importance on sports, which seem frivolous compared to life's other dilemmas, including the recent terrorist attacks.
For many students, emotions do hinge on Nick Collison's field-goal percentage or Kirk Hinrich's assist-to-turnover ratio. And it's true that in the grand scheme, these things matter little.
The Kansas basketball team's winloss record won't solve terrorism, but sports teams do offer a sense of belonging.
Fort two 20-minute halves, thousands of ordinary strangers are transformed into brothers and sisters, united for the common purpose of being part of something special. Not many things have the power to unite the way sports teams do.
Don't hold back. Root like crazy for your favorite team. When it wins, soak up the glory as if it's your own, and tell the world about it. A little BIRGing never hurt anyone.
Stinnett is a Shawnee senior in journalism and psychology
'Hawks handled in sweep
No.2 Nebraska slams Kansas in lopsided loss
By Steve Laurenzo Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas volleyball team felt the wrath of No. 2 Nebraska last night.
The Jayhawks were swept swiftly in Nebraska Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb., 30-16, 30-16, 30-17.
Nebraska (14-1, 7-0) started games two and three with 4-0 runs, rendering Kansas (11-6,2-6) little chance of taking a game, let alone the match.
Kansas coach Ray Bechard said Nebraska was worthy of its No. 2 ranking.
"We didn't play all that poorly tonight," Bechard said. "It's just that Nebraska is a very fine volleyball team."
The match provided several
season-low statistics for the Jayhawks.
They suffered their most lopsided three-game sweep of the season thus far. Nebraska defeated the Kansas by a combined score of 90-49. The 41-point deficit was 14 more than the Jayhawks' previous worst outing, in Austin, Texas, when the Longhorns defeated Kansas by a combined 27 points.
Led by senior middle blocker Jenny Kropp, Nebraska outblocked Kansas 8-1.
Kropp had two solo blocks and two block assists. The seven-block deficiency was Kansas' worst of the season.
Leading what little offense the Jayhawks were able to muster against an overpowering Nebraska squad was sophomore outside hitter Sarah Rome, who finished with nine kills and five digs. Second to Rome was freshman outside hitter Danielle
McHenry with seven kills. The Jayhawks' hitting efficiency hit a season low 6.3 percent.
Junior middle blocker Kylie Thomas said Nebraska played a very physical match.
"They are very talented, and it showed on the court," Thomas said. "It seemed like they put good swings on the ball on every attempt."
Nebraska's superior hitting capacity can be partially explained by the height of its players. Only four of Nebraska's 16 players are under six feet tall, compared to eight out of 14 players on the Jayhawks' roster that fall short of the six-foot mark.
The Jayhawks have a busy weekend ahead, with a pair of matches in North Carolina. They play the University of North Carolina on Friday and North Carolina State on Saturday.
Contact Laurenzo at 864-4858
Sophomore hitter Sarah Rome goes down for a dig during a three-game sweep to No. 2 ranked Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb.
DEBELL LIPPINCOTT/NEBRASKAN
Senior Jayhawks shoot down Texas Tech
By Jeff Denton
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas football team has been driven by youth this season, but it was a couple of 20-something fifth-year seniors who took the wheel in Saturday's 34-31 double overtime thriller in Lubbock, Texas.
Termaine Fulton and Marcus Rogers, two of the Jayhawks' oldest players, elevated their play in the game's final half hour. Although youth brought the Jayhawks back
— freshman Johnny Beck boomed a 42-yard field goal to cut Texas Tech's fourthquarter lead to eight points, and sophomore Reggie Duncan rumbled into the end zone for the game-tying two-point conversion —
experience carried Kansas into overtime, and experience cemented the second win of the season.
Kansas coach Terry Allen marveled at two of the football players he helped lure to Lawrence. Rogers and Fulton were two key recruits in Allen's first recruiting class five years ago.
"Termaine's had to step up in the absence of Harrison," Allen said. "Saturday he really made plays for us. And in the Big 12, where there are a lot of good linebackers, Marcus Rogers is an outstanding football player."
Termaine Fulton is 25. In the fourth quarter Saturday, Fulton flourished. He caught a Kinsey bullet on third down and flipped a
SEE COMEBACK PAGE 7A
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
Termaine Fulton (above) and Marcus Rogers (left) brought crucial age and experience to the Kansas football team's overtime comeback against Texas Tech Saturday in Lubbock, Texas.
Road victory changes football team's mindset
By Brent Briggeman Kansan sportswriter
As rain sprinkled down on Tuesday's practice, the Kansas football team learned a lot about itself.
The clock was approaching 6 p.m., the team was tired from a long practice and cold from the wind and rain and the opponent awaiting was the undefeated national champions.
"At the end of practice, we got into our two-minute offense, and you could see everyone come alive and the intensity jumped up." said coach Terry Allen. "They were having fun out there."
The practice could have been one of the lowest points of the season. Instead, it was a highlight.
Kansas went on a miraculous two minute, 63-yard drive to comeback eight points against Texas Tech last Saturday, eventually picking up the victory in overtime. A loss would have been the team's third straight as it heads into a five-week stretch that includes games against
The atmosphere at the practice could have been different.
Oklahoma, Kansas State, Nebraska and Texas, all of which have been ranked in the top 10 this season.
"It would have been pretty bad being out there in the rain and riding a three game losing streak," said running back Reggie Duncan.
But that wasn't the case.
But that wasn't the point.
Linebacker Marcus Rogers picked off Red Raider quarterback B.J. Symons in the second overtime to seal a victory for the Jayhawks. Just like that, Kansas was 2-2, with a 1-1 record in the Big 12 Conference and riding the season's first true
emotional high.
"That win was big time," safety Jamarei Bryant said. "We needed that from a confidence standpoint. Now, instead of going out there hoping we can win, we can go out knowing we can win. We needed that."
The team has started looking at itself differently, and so have outside observers.
A week ago, the Kansas weekly press conference was focused around Kansas'
SEE CONFIDENCE PAGE 7A
The series is even at one game a piece.
MLB
Oakland
Oakland 5
New York 3
Atletics lead the series 1-0.