KU Football: Tell-Tale Traditions

Have you ever held an in-depth psychological or philosophical conversation with Defensive Captain Darrell Stuckey?

How about eaten a steak next to Carl Wilson in the Free State Brewery?

Maybe you've lost your phone near Dezmon Briscoe's apartment?  (I should have called the number to see who answered...)

I am a big fan of story-telling and am renowned for exaggerating and gossiping with the best of them, so it comes as no surprise to me that I have recently discovered my favorite new KU Football tradition:

Story-telling.

I am only a sophomore at the University of Kansas, but since I've been here I've noticed that this particular trend is becoming significantly more popular all the time.  Over the past three years, KU Football is gaining a lot more attention and, rightfully so, the players are getting their due as well.

One can no longer be a part of a discussion on this campus without hearing at least one person tell everyone that he or she sits between Jeff Spikes and Maxwell Onyegbule in a theatre and film class.

It's hard to be among a group of girls and not hear at least one of them claim she was asked out by Jonathan Wilson at a party last week, or how big of a crush they had on Tanner Hawkinson throughout elementary and high school.

The other day as I sat down to eat, one of my colleagues actually claimed he saw Mark Mangino at a water park in Missouri last summer...shirtless.

Is it true?  I don't know, but I don't care either.  I just love seeing fans get excited about for the Jayhawks.  In a school where basketball gets most of the love, its nice to see that some people keep up with their gridiron Hawks as well.

Besides, I have a few stories of my own.

I was waiting in line to vote in the Burge Union last year when Todd Reesing showed up.  The best part is that he had no idea what was going on.  I admit that maybe I'm responsible for the USF loss last year, though, because I wished him good luck on his road trip, and no luck from me is ever good.

By the way, if he's 5' 11" and 200 pounds, then I'm built a lot like Toben Opurum.

Did I mention that my roommate was a good friend and football companion of Caleb Blakesley, or even that my brother's best friend's cousin lived in Pittsburg near Kerry Meier?  (I had an in-depth scouting report on Meier before KU students even knew what position he played.)

So maybe your help is the reason Chris Harris passed calculus, or your roommate has been spending an awful lot of time with Vernon Brooks lately.  Maybe you lived next door to Steven Johnson in Oliver Hall last year.

You could even be an 3a Kansas football buff and never missed a Steven Foster high school game.

Did I mention my high school football coach used to be an assistant at Goddard where he spent half the year scheming against Jake Sharp?

It doesn't matter whether you're the guy who polishes Bradley McDougald's helmet before every game or you're the girl Arist Wright bought dinner for last week; go ahead and let your story ring.

I don't even care how far-fetched or exaggerated they are (although you should keep your players' image in mind if you're a particularly windy person). 

It's not important to me because I just love hearing about KU football.  (While on the subject, I should also mention that any good stories are vastly appreciated if you would like to post them below.)

Besides, I'll bet that not many of you can say that you got dominated by Isaiah Barfield in Junior High Basketball, or that you went to grade school with KU's 2008 Orange Bowl starting right guard Chet Hartley, and that his brother married your first cousin.  (Their baby is adorable, by the way.)

I can, though, and I will tell everyone who listens.