WSU Shocker Basketball Game

I'll be honest with you... I don't really understand the rivalry between the Shockers and the Jayhawks.  Maybe it's because I lived in Florida for so long and cheered for everything that looked like home.  Maybe it's because I just love all things Kansas and all things Wichita.  Or maybe it's because I'm a peacemaker and don't understand why we can't just all get along.

I remember in high school sitting in my room and listening too Wichita State games in the says of Xavier McDaniel.  (Don't do the math.)  And I was amazingly faithful until my teenage hormones took over and I discovered the Jayhawks and Mark Turgeon in particular.  My friends and I had such a crush on him. We even wrote a song about him to the tune of Madonna's "Like a Virgin"... ya know... "Like a Turgeon".  (It's stuff like this that make blogger anonymity pretty priceless, but I digress.) Since then, I have mainly been a Jayhawk, but have been coming back to WSU since the time they hired Turgeon to coach.

Now, if I haven't lost you with that confession, you should know my love for the Shockers is at an all-time high.  Probably because after a lifetime of radio and tv broadcasts, I finally got to go to a live game, and in my quest to rediscover Wichita, I've rediscovered why I loved them first.

Widdle Mama, Curly, her Tallman and I get together to watch as many games as they'll air.  We absolutely love college basketball, so when my friend Debbie called about having an extra ticket to the game this week, I couldn't say "yes" fast enough.  The evening was nothing short of awesome and that includes our picnic in a cemetery pre-game.

The Charles Koch arena is far more comfortable than the last 3 arenas I've been in.  Seats were comfortable, there was good legroom (but then again, I'm 5'4").  The stairs didn't seem like a "Biggest Loser" challenge which was also nice.  The atmosphere was electric the whole time.  Before we got to the arena, I pre-apologized to my friend for what she was about to experience, "I'm a loud sports fan... I might embarrass you."  But in that arena, I was the shy one!  Good lawd, that place was hopping!

It was a great game and we won by a large margin which is always fun.  I won't critique the basketball side of it - their play speaks for itself.  VanVleet is a general on the floor, Morris is coming alive at the right time of the season, McDuffy and Kelly had a good night and Frankamp showed signs of the high school phenom everyone wants him to be for WSU.  All of this contributing to a great experience for the fans.  It's all about having fun, and winning is the funnest thing I know.  :)

I have three regrets about the evening though:

1. I regret that didn't get a selfie with Wu when we passed him in the concourse. 
2. I regret that I never got the hang of shouting "three" on the three-pointers.  If my percentage of times I got that right were a shooting percentage, Marshall would bench me.  (Can you bench a fan for missing crowd chants?)  
3. I regret that I'm *muffled tones* years old and am just now experiencing this for the first time. 

What I won't regret is giving the experience a "Keeper of the Plains" rating.  If you've never been to a game you gotta get there!  It's 100% Wichita, and 1000% entertaining.