THE UNIVERSITY OF DARLY KANSAN FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2008
NEWS
SPORTS
3A
Fan superstitions boost spirit
BY LUKE MORRIS
Imorris@kansan.com
The Kansas men's basketball team has speed and skills to its advantage in most matchups. The fans stack another advantage to their side — superstition.
Many KU fans follow superstitions to give their favorite team an extra bit of luck. These superstitions range from simply wearing a Jayhawks shirt on game day to rituals following each basket.
Greg Weseloh, Liberty, Mo., sophomore, wears a sweatshirt that his dad bought him during the 1988 Final Four. He wears it for big games when he thinks the basketball team needs a boost of luck.
"I know for me it's a heavy sweat-shirt so it gets the blood flowing and gets me all sweaty," Weseloh said. "Then I get more pumped and I feel like that energy might transfer over to the players."
A lucky sweatshirt isn't enough supersition for Chris Kellher, Overland Park senior, who has multiple game day shirts. He said that he wore one shirt for home games
and another for away games. He also wears "lucky pajamas" to bed the night before a big game and pounds fists with everyone around him when Kansas hits a three-point basket.
"I don't know if they really work," Kellher said. "I got do what I can to try and help us win."
Both Weseloh and Kelliher said they saved their superstitions for bigger games, like rivalry games and matchups against better teams.
"I don't want to overuse it," Weseloh said. "I don't want to take away its magic if it's not necessary."
Dan Wann, professor of psychology at Murray State University and Kansas alumnus, said that superstitions helped fans deal with the fact that they have no effect on the game.
"People want to have control over their environment, and superstitions give them a belief they have a part in the outcome for the team." Wann said.
He said that while some fans hold superstitions for fun, his studies of sports fans showed that fans thought performing their superstitions had some sort of impact on the game.
Wann said Weseloh and Kelliher's superstitions were among the most common types. Lucky seats, food and clothing were the top superstitions his study found.
Some of the more wild superstitions his study found included a Notre Dame football fan who read three passages of the Bible and drank three beers before each quarter of a Fighting Irish game. In another case, a woman made love to her husband while wearing her favorite university's football jersey and matching socks the night before each game.
Kansas fans will test their superstitions this month as the Jayhawks fight their way through the Big 12 Championship and NCAA tournament.
Senior guard Russell Robinson encouraged Jayhawk fans to keep using their superstitions to help the team through the postseason.
"We need you to wear your lucky socks, wear your lucky shirt; whatever you do to win the games, we need you to do that the rest of this season," Robinson said.
Edited by Samuel Lamb
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES
Democrats propose vote-by-mail
Associated Press
BY BREND AN FARRINGTON
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Democrats on Thursday proposed a vote-by-mail presidential primary to solve the high-stakes delegate dispute while acknowledging the plan's chances are slim.
Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, offered a mail-in/in person proposal for voting and urged state leaders, the national party and the presidential candidates to sign on. Under the plan, all of Florida's 4.1 million Democrats would be mailed a ballot. They could send it back, or cast a ballot in one of 50 regional voting centers that would
Democrats in Florida and Michigan are struggling to come up with an alternative to ensure their delegates are seated at the national convention this summer after the party punished them for holding early primaries. The pressure to resolve the issue has increased amid the protracted fight for every delegate between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
be set up. The election would end June 3, a week before a Democratic National Committee deadline to name delegates.
The estimated cost is $10 million to $12 million.
Asked if the plan will be implemented, Thurman said, "I have a feeling that this is probably closer to not, than yes."
Members of Florida's congressional delegation reiterated their opposition to the plan.
"We do not believe that this is a realistic option at this time and remain opposed to a mail-in ballot election or any new primary election in Florida of any kind."
Thurman will review comments from Democratic leaders and make a decision by Monday on whether to proceed with the re-vote. But she acknowledged that Obama has concerns and the Democratic National Committee won't support a proposal unless both candidates back it. She said there was a serious question over whether the state could legally verify the signatures of a privately run election.
"If this becomes something that
The Democratic Party is talking with the secretary of state's office about whether elections officials would be able to verify ballot signatures, but Republicans, who control the legislature, have opposed any state involvement and legal questions are raised.
"The state of Florida should not be involved in certifying or mediating intraparty squabbles," said House Speaker Marco Rubio.
Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, said he wasn't opposed to the state helping verify signatures as long as no taxpayer money was spent and state and national parties hadn't already worked out another solution.
we can't do, then we can't do it." Thurman said.
The Justice Department has to pre-approve any plan for a re-vote in Michigan or Florida to ensure that voting rights aren't being denied because of race or an inability to speak English. The department has 60 days to make a determination, but Justice spokesman Peter Carr said they provide expedited review whenever possible.
Students tune in to tournament in Union
BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Chris Munoz, Topeka junior, and Laurn Lakebirk, Liberty, Mo., junior, watch basketball on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union Thursday afternoon. SUA is holding a Big 12 watch party for students to watch the games.
BY LUKE MORRIS
Imorris@kansan.com
Student Union Activities provided students and faculty with an opportunity to watch Big 12 Championship games between classes Thursday. They will also play host to a tournament watch party today.
Students and a few faculty members sat in front of a projector screen placed on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union Thursday and watched games from the first round of the tournament. SUA provided refreshments for those watching the games. During breaks in the games, SUA members asked spectators trivia questions about Kansas basketball and gave prizes to whoever answered correctly.
"It's pretty enjoyable and the food's good," Brandon Goodrich, Dallas senior, said. "The trivia questions were nice."
ing.
Emily Riley, Overland Park junior and member of the SUA special events committee, said that she was surprised that so many students showed up despite the fact that they Jayhawks weren't play-
Goodrich, like most other students in the union, didn't know that the watch party was happening until he entered the union.
"We hoped it would be during one of KU's games so we could all watch and be a good atmosphere," Riley said. "But since it's the Big 12 Championship people want to see the games anyway."
The attendance also surprised Riley because the tournament was scheduled around the time of many University midterms and close to spring break.
tried to study for her midterm while watching Texas Tech play Oklahoma State.
"I'm not really focusing on studying for my midterm too much," Whealdon said. "I spent a lot of time studying last night, though, so I should be OK."
Some students in the Union
While many people who came through the union stopped to watch the game for a while, a few others grabbed some food and drinks from the event and moved on to other things.
Lauren Lakebrink, SUA special events coordinator and Liberty, Mo., junior, said that SUA played host to a watch party on campus for at least the last three years. She said that overall for the two days she expected about 300 people to come through and enjoy the games, close to the number of people who visited last year.
Edited by Jared Duncan
BY ANDREW TAYLOR ASSOCIATED PRESS
POLITICS
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday rejected the idea of renewing many of President Bush's tax cuts as all three major presidential candidates interrupted their campaigns to cast their votes. The House approved a budget blueprint that would raise taxes by $683 billion during the next five years.
The Senate embraced Bush reductions aimed at low-income workers, married couples and people with children.
The Senate voted 99-1 to extend the cuts for some workers as well as couples and parents. Senators voted 52-47 to reject a move to extend tax cuts for middle- and higher-income taxpayers, investors and people inheriting businesses and big estates.
The votes were mostly symbolic, but they put senators in both parties on the record for when the tax cuts actually expire in three years.
Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain.
Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting, voted for the full roster of Bush tax cuts. Rivals Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama, (D-III.) both voted against them.
The Senate debated and voted into the night on a $3 trillion Democratic budget blueprint for 2009. The nonbinding plan envisions a balanced budget in four years and promises generous increases for many domestic programs.
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