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KU fans cheer title run
Combine the frenzy of KU basketball and the frivolity of
New Orleans, and you have the makings of a memorable celebration.
Such was the scene in the Big Easy April 4-7, when thousands
of Jayhawks traveled to the Final Four.
Nearly 1,000 alumni participated in a charter tour offered
by the Alumni Association, KU Athletics and Dodds Athletic
Tours. Four planeloads of the faithful landed in New Orleans
April 4 and moved into quarters at the team hotel, the Sheraton
New Orleans on Canal Street. The hotel lobby became the hub
for impromptu reunions and revelry.
Upstairs in the Napoleon Ballroom, nearly 3,500 fans partied
before the April 5 semifinal game against Marquette. Led by
the KU pep band, Spirit Squad, and dynamic emcee Kirk Cerny
of the Alumni Association, the crowd rocked the house with
cheers, chants, and rousing renditions of "I'm a Jayhawk"
and "Down by the River," a tune written years ago
by the legendary postman and sometime disc jockey Wilt Chamberlain.
New Orleans attire was all the rage: strand after strand
of crimson-and-blue beads, KU-hued feather boas and unusual
red-feathered Jayhawk hats (handcrafted in the French Quarter)
were favorite accessories for lucky T-shirts, face paint,
the occasional neon blue wig. After the Jayhawks trounced
Marquette, 94-61, KU fans wore their finery to Bourbon Street
and celebrated until the wee hours.
The party continued April 7, when the ballroom rally again
stoked KU spirit before the championship game against Syracuse.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said the stellar performances of seniors
Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich and the leadership of coach
Roy Williams had inspired Kansans statewide and had converted
countless others who admired the high standards of Kansas
basketball. Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway, an English professor
at heart, combined his pep talk with a lesson on the magical
number three: the Jayhawks (who amassed an astonishing 59
points in the first half against Marquette) had needed only
three second-half points to win the semifinal game, he reminded
the crowd. They would break Syracuse's zone defense with a
three-point shooting, he predicted, and bring home a third
NCAA championship banner to hang in Allen Field House alongside
those from 1952 and 1988.
 Sadly,
an ironic twist tore KU hearts later that night: The Jayhawks
lost the title game by three points, 81-78, after fighting
back valiantly from a staggering deficit created by Syracuse's
deadeye three-point shooting. Despite the sting, fans packed
the Sheraton lobby to salute the team's magnificent championship
run.
In Lawrence, about 8,000 fans waited in the Field House April
8 to welcome home their team. Though the ending was not as
happy as they had hoped, the story of the 2002-03 season,
including a consecutive Big 12 title and dramatic tournament
wins over Duke and Arizona, will be one to remember.
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8,000 fans greeted the Jayhawks on their
return to Allen Fieldhouse April 8.
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