To the students of Kansas State University, I write this not only as a student but as someone who’s been around the game of college football long enough to know that there is never a sure thing.
A few days ago, on two separate occasions, I overheard two different conversations that carried the same theme. Both went something like this, “Are you going to the game on Saturday?”
There were two responses that came from this question. One was, “No, I’m gonna watch it from home, because I don’t want to see us get beat,” the other response was “Why would I go watch TCU kick our ass?”
This isn’t the K-State fan base I grew up watching and admired; I mean, really guys? It’s the No. 2 team in America and students are running for the hills and admitting defeat? When did the K-State student body become the French army, the Canadian border patrol or, even worse, a Kansas football fan?
Yep, that’s right. Those of you who are going out of your way to avoid watching your team avoid embarrassment are on par with Jayhawk football fans.
Sorry, not sorry.
There was one time when the K-State student section thrived on seeing a top team enter the not-so-friendly confines of Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Whether it was Colorado or Nebraska in the ’90s or Texas and Oklahoma in the 2000s, it was moments like those that brought out the most intensity from the K-State student section.
For the first time in a while, it’s K-State who plays the role of underdog and spoiler not once, not twice, but three times this season. Even if the Wildcats lose on Saturday, it’s still possible the Wildcats have another chance to cause complete chaos in the college football world. So, sitting on campus or in your dorm room saying to your friends that you’re not going to the game simply because you don’t want to get your butt kicked? That’s a punk way to go out.
This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that K-State faces long odds. If history tells us anything, however, it’s that Saturday night may be a night to remember for Wildcat fans.
Think about 2006 when Texas came strolling into Manhattan and suffered a huge trip-up as the Wildcats stunned Texas with a 45-42 victory and took out Texas quarterback Colt McCoy in the process. Or how about in 1998, when the Wildcats finally broke the decades-long losing streak against Nebraska with a 40-30 upset win?
I guess what I’m trying to say here is: if you’re a student at this fine university and you are going out of your way to avoid this game just because there’s a chance that you may get your butt kicked on national TV, fine. Be a punk.
To those of you who have decided to defy logic and go forth in what some of your peers may consider a futile and stupid effort – cheering on your team to an upset victory over the second ranked team in America and causing complete chaos in the college football world – I say good luck, and Wabash like you’ve never Wabashed before, because you have faith that even the craziest of things can happen.
That’s what makes sports amazing, isn’t it?
Andrew Hammond is a sophomore in mass communications.
