Stuff like this just Ticks me off

[newshock1234]

http://www.thesunflower.com/web/isite.dll?1322634471031

Peters, who was wearing a KU T-shirt on campus, said he does not even own any WSU T-shirts.

[ABC]

My son is a freshman at KU and he says he frequently sees Shocker stuff on KU's campus. (And he is one of the students wearing it)

[SHOXAAC]

Obviously Mr. Peters found a reason other than athletics to come and get a life-long education and degree from WSU. I know we are wrapped up in the Shocker basketball spirit, but come on, there are other things to b!tch and moan about.

[AndShock]

It's a pretty shallow and boring article but it does briefly bring up a point I'm interested in. Enrollment and football and if there's any correlation.

[Shockra]

FYI...KU doesn't have a football team either.

[SB Shock]

http://www.thesunflower.com/web/isite.dll?1322634471031

Ryan Peters, a junior, said that even though he attends Wichita State, he is most definitely a Jayhawk fan.

Weekend games during the football season are what make the college spirit come alive, Peters said. “Game days for football are on Saturday," he said. “Those game days are what bring a lot of excitement to a town."

Evidently he hasn't been watching much KU football lately.

[SpanglerFan316]

You have no idea of the traffic, parking, etc. problems that arise at home football games at a specific Pac 12 school. (Well, let's say two specific Pac 12 schools.) After this year away from WSU, I will be happy to avoid the issues of home football games.

[SpanglerFan316]

FYI...KU doesn't have a football team either.

I suppose WSU could offer tailgating and drinking on Saturday mornings and this would equal a KU football experience (minus the football mauling administrated by the visiting team for those few fans who actually watch KU football games.)

[jwmann2@uky.edu]

Basketball is far superior in this state. The culture would have to change for WSU to have a football team. Kids would have to grow up wanting to play football, not basketball for the Jayhawks.

[RyneSandberg]

http://www.thesunflower.com/web/isite.dll?1322634471031

I've known Ryan for awhile (acquaintances, not really friends) - he's a pretty good guy. I don't think it's right to bag on the guy for wearing KU gear on WSU's campus. I transferred from WSU to KU and wore my Shocker gear on campus up there all the time - not a big deal if you ask me (and I do think Ryan is wrong about one thing in the article - I remember people wearing KSU stuff on campus at KU a lot, but I have heard the reverse wouldn't fly in Manhattan from K-Stater friends).

In the big picture, Ryan is right, though. It just isn't the same at a university without football. Bag on KU football all you want (and God knows we were horrible this year (hopefully that will be rectified soon)), but gamedays in Lawrence are fantastic, if decidedly not SEC or Big 12 big-shot fantastic. To be perfectly honest, football gamedays were one of the reasons I decided to transfer to KU (yeah, I know how petty that sounds). I am sure the issue has been argued on here about 3 billion times, but I am firmly of the belief that the entire student and alumni culture of WSU would change if they would bring football back. I think that Wichita and WSU have learned, over the last 25 years, what a terrible mistake dropping football was, at least in the long run, and that if given the chance, WSU fans and the city's populace would make WSU football work this time around. Don't get me wrong, I think WSU is a fine university as is, but I think it could be so much more with football (sorry to intercede in this discussion - flame away).

[shox1989]

I am one of those who is convinced that one of the reasons WSU has had no growth the last 20 years is because there is no football. Football is just too important to a lot of people.

[ripemupshocks]

Basketball is far superior in this state. The culture would have to change for WSU to have a football team. Kids would have to grow up wanting to play football, not basketball for the Jayhawks.

I notice you list Cincinnati as your location, so I don't know your connection to Kansas. But that statement just isn't true, and is rather insulting. There are far, far more kids playing football than basketball in this state. Those kids work their tails off from 2nd grade through high school on the football field. We've even managed to produce some pretty good football talent over the years. And believe it or not, those kids actually grow up wanting to play football.

Perhaps your lack of knowledge regarding youth sports in Kansas leads you to believe all of those kids grow up wanting to play basketball for the Chickenhawks, but they don't. Even in Kansas, the universe doesn't revolve around KU.

[pinstripers]

I notice you list Cincinnati as your location, so I don't know your connection to Kansas. But that statement just isn't true, and is rather insulting. There are far, far more kids playing football than basketball in this state. Those kids work their tails off from 2nd grade through high school on the football field. We've even managed to produce some pretty good football talent over the years. And believe it or not, those kids actually grow up wanting to play footbal

Perhaps your lake of knowledge regarding youth sports in Kansas leads you to believe all of those kids grow up wanting to play basketball for the Chickenhawks, but they don't. Even in Kansas, the universe doesn't revolve around KU.

I thought he basically made sense.

[pogo]

I am one of those who is convinced that one of the reasons WSU has had no growth the last 20 years is because there is no football. Football is just too important to a lot of people.

+2

[bleed yellow]

As far as the in-state rivalry goes, don't assume that there is not one between WSU and the other 2 schools because there is. It may not not be as intense, but I'd say it's ridiculous to say that there is no rivalry at all. The KU-KSU rivalry is intense because of how old it is and the location of the schools. KU-KSU fans have not liked each other since the 1860's and have been playing against one another in competitive sports since the early 1900's for this reason. Those two schools probably just look at WSU as a very young university still. WSU didn't even get accredited until the 1960's and they don't have football. We still play KU and KSU in baseball every year and those games are fun to watch I think. Having come from a family full of KU fans and alums, I can tell you that bitterness between KU-KSU runs so deep that it even altered my college route. KU didn't have my major at all, KSU had something close to it, but since I knew me going to KSU would make half of my family barf, I chose WSU, plus they had everything I wanted. After attending WSU, it's not just different because of no football I don't think. Most WSU students seem like they realize they are in a big city and that there is tons of stuff to do when they aren't busy... I don't recall encountering any students who complained about not liking going to school there, unless they were pissed at an adviser.