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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
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COMMENTARY
PAGE1B
Trajan font isn't attacking KU tradition
Are you bored because Kansas football has a bye week? Here's an idea. Let's talk about fonts. These different portrayals of the printed word are all around us. See that PowerPoint slide in Earthquakes and Natural Disasters class? It's Arial Black. See that writing on the shirt of that creepy Wesco Beach hippy? Looks like Comic Sans to me. So while fonts have given us nothing but joy over the years, a certain Trajan font has become more despised in Lawrence than William Quantrill and the Alcohol Beverage Control combined.
Ever since Kansas Athletics announced that the font on the KU basketball uniforms will be changed to Trajan, Jayhawk message boards have been lit up with protests. A few angry alums have started a Web site dedicated to derailing the font change.
The rallying cry of most Kansas fans has sounded a little like this.
"It's a travesty, an abomination, how dare they mess with tradition."
The only problem? The current "Circus" or "Olde English-" looking font you see on the basketball jerseys isn't really that old. The font has only been around since the 1997-98 season. Before that Jacque Vaughn, Raef Lafrentz, and the rest of the early 90s Kansas teams were wearing a slight variation of the current font. A similar look, but definitely not the current style. And what about JoJo White in the 70s and Wilt Chamberlain in the 50s? They were decked out in uniforms with standard block lettering — similar to what we've seen on the girls' basketball squad's jerseys during the last few years.
Okay. Let's not get bogged down in the aesthetics of font styles. But the point is that as new generations of students spend time on Mt. Oread, the definition of tradition at Kansas will always change.
Back on the diamond
Sure, we'll always wave the wheat, do the Rock Chalk chant, and swim in the Chi-O fountain. But times change. I'm sure they didn't have the "Dancing Nachos" at basketball games when Wilt was playing, and I bet Bob Dole never had the chance to grub on deece Wheel Pizza on a Thursday night.
Kansas has gone through change before. In 1946, a KU student named Harold D. Sandy designed a new smiling version of the Jayhawk. The symbol is now synonymous around the world with the University of Kansas. But when the new, more child-friendly Jayhawk was first introduced, I'm sure there were Jayhawk fans who longed for the scowling war-time Jayhawk that preceded it.
Doesn't it all depend on what you grew up with? This columnist longs for those beloved basketball jerseys worn from 1997-98 to 2002-2003. With a classy blue arch on the shorts and triangular blue trim on the side, the home whites were uniform perfection. But is it the uniform I long for, or the players? Do I really need those uniforms to return, or would I just like to see Kirk Hinrich in the open floor, running the secondary break one last time? I think it's the latter. Players make uniforms. Uniforms don't make players.
Listen, this columnist isn't trying to defend the athletic department. The choice of Trajan as the official font of the University of Kansas is a terribly poor miscalculation. It seems from an outsider's perspective that the font change on the uniforms (the football and volleyball team are already sporting Trajan lettering) is more about justifying the money paid to a Portland design company that advised Kansas Athletics on the change than actually improving the look of KU uniforms.
But in the end, Kansas basketball will always be Kansas basketball. And when Brandon Rush is standing on a ladder at the Final Four in April, cutting down the nets after a Kansas National Championship, nobody is going to care about what font he has on his chest.
Kansan sports columnist Rustin Dodd can be contacted at rd0do@kansan.com.
—Edited by Luke Morris
Shawn Shroyer, Kansan Columnist, dusted off his glove to try out for the Kansas baseball team. Shroyer said writing about his experience was not his sole purpose. He wanted to get on the baseball field one more time. Sarah Leonard/KANS
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Meier proves versatility on the field
Former starting quarterback plays role of wide receiver in new offense
BY CASE KEEFER
ckeeker@kansan.com
After Kerry Meier lost the starting quarterback job in the preseason, everyone, Meier included, thought his role would be to serve as Todd Reesing's backup. Everyone except Kansas coach Mark Mangino.
Mangino adheres to a stern philosophy that getting the best players on the field regardless of their position translates into victories. And nothing illustrates that belief better than what Kansas did with Meier on Saturday. In the first quarter, Meier entered the game as a receiver.
"We've worked on that for a considerable amount of time, the key was if Kerry was healthy enough to do it." Mangino said. "Kerry is too good of an athlete to spend all of his time on the sidelines."
Meier hadn't spent all of his time on the sidelines in 2007, though. He appeared in each of the Jayhawks first three games as a quarterback with impressive results. Meier completed nine of 11 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
Meier's success passing this season and experience from starting eight games last year made it clear that he was a valuable asset as one of the Big 12 Conference's
Anna Faltermeier/KANSAN
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 4B
Sophomore quarterback/wide receiver Kerry Meier carries the ball up the field Saturday night during the game against Florida International. Meier came into the first quarter as a wide receiver.
VOLLEYBALL
'Nebraska phenomenon' Jayhawks to face defending national champ 'Huskers
BY RUSTIN DODDrdodd@kansan.com
Ever seen a team without a weakness? You might tonight.
When No. 1 Nebraska takes on Kansas at the Horeisi Family Athletics Center at 7 p.m., Kansas coach Ray Bechard hopes his team can finally find a flaw in the defending national champions.
Nebraska is that good. After a NCAA runner-up finish in 2005 and a national title in 2006, the Huskers are 10-0 this year, giving them a 106-5 record since the beginning of the 2004 season.
"If there is one, it hasn't been exposed yet," Bechard said.
Nebraska also has the last two American Volleyball Coaches Association National Players of the Year in its starting lineup.
Senior Christina Houghtelling won the award in 2005, while senior Sarah Pavan earned the honor last year.
Nebraska has blown through its early season schedule with relative ease. The Huskers have completed three-game
sweeps in nine of their 10 matches - the only blemish coming in a 3-1 win against No. 5 UCLA.
But Kansas (9-5, 2-2 in the Big 12) is playing its best volleyball of the season. With a 3-2 win at Missouri last Wednesday and a sweep
Brown
of Texas Tech at home on Saturday, the Jayhawks snapped a 12-game conference losing streak, dating back to last year.
"We're starting to pull it together and get healthy." Bechard said.
nes the freshman don't know
Senior setter Emily Brown was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, after averaging 11 kills, 27 assists and nine digs during last week's victories, and the team's trio of freshmen continues improving. Freshman libero Melissa Manda is eighth in the Big 12 with 3.83 digs per game, and freshman outside hitters Jenna Kaiser and Karina Garlington have also been impressive. Kaiser is the team's leading hitter with 2.49 kills per game, and Garlingen notched a career-high 14 kills against Missouri last week.
Kansas' youth could be an advantage against Nebraska.
SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 4B
CLUB BASEBALL
Jayhawks start 0-2, face Baker today in doubleheader
Game one: Kansas lost 12-9 to Illinois. Kansas tied the game in the seventh, but couldn't pull through. Dylan Dicharry, Coffeyville senior, was 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Jordan Kallas, Eden Prairie, Minn., senior, was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
Game two: Kansas lost 10-9 to Missouri. The Jayhawks let a 7-10 lead slip away. Missouri hit a walk-of-sacrifice fly in the seventh and final inning to win. Mark Hays, Overland Park senior, pitched five relief innings, allowing only two runs on three hits. Douglas Campbell, Peru, Ill., sophomore, had a three-run double, B.J. Rains, St. Louis senior, was 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Ben D'Amico, Golden Valley, Minn., junior got on base every at-bat.
Up next: Kansas travels to Baldwin City today to play Baker University's varsity baseball team in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m.
Kansan staff reports