12B
Monday, Maroh 10, 1997
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It's a'Hawk,it's a plane ... it's Superfan to the rescue
Tyler Wirken / KANSAN
3300 W.15TH
Junior Ryan Hodapp handles stress of being KU's most colorful fan
Ryan Hodapp is known to most Jayhawk fans as the KU Superfan. The Overland Park junior has been donning his wiie and cap for the last two seasons.
By Eric Weslander
Kansan sportswriter
Four hours before the tip-off of the last men's home basketball game of the season, fans inside Allen Field House lazily read newspapers and munched on doughnuts. Some of them caught quick naps on the track surrounding the basketball court.
But while other fans relaxed, Ryan Hodapp dealt with the pressures of being the KU Superfan.
Hodapp, wearing a red wig, face paint and a blue cap, posed outside the field house for a photographer from GQ magazine. He gladly obliged when several people asked to take snapshots of him. He consoled a fellow face-painter who asked to borrow some crimson paint.
"Sorry, I did this at home," Hodapp said, pointing to his face. "You don't need the paint; just go crazy, man. That's all that really matters."
KU Superfan, the Overland Park junior's alter ego, has appeared at all men's home basketball games for the last two seasons. He's big, he's boisterous and he's not afraid to show some spirit.
Before every men's home game, Hodapp begins by donning a red sweatshirt, dime store wig and blue cape. Then he painstakingly divides his face into crimson and blue halves.
Sometimes he paints his face at home, sometimes he paints it in the restrooms of the field house. No matter where he prepares, though, he goes crazy once he gets in the stands.
about his superhuman abilities.
Although Hodapp confessed that he originally painted his face only to get on television, he said the KU Superfan had become a part of him. He even speculated
"It's kind of an emotional release thing," he said. "No one really knows who you are, so there's no reason not to let it all hang out."
"They haven't lost with me at a game," he said. "Of course, I guess they'd win without me there."
Like all superheroes, Hodapp has sympathy for the underdog, which is reflected in his choice of favorite player.
"I've got to go with Terry Nooner," he said. "Jacque, Jerod, Paul, they're all good players, but I have to pull for the walk-ons."
Jeff Warren, Hodapp's roommate and Augusta sophomore, is usually alongside him at the
games, but Warren said he did not plan to become the KU Superfan's trusty sidekick.
"I told him I would start painting my face as soon as Roy (Williams) started painting his," Warren said.
"The regular season is over, but the Superfan will return next year. He loves the game, he loves the enthusiasm, and he loves Allen Field House," Hodapp said. "Nobody's got better fans than KU. We may not all end up painting our faces and wearing the capes, but we'll go crazier than anyone in the nation."
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