I couldn't find anyone who was a Kansas State or Kansas fan, but Gary and I lived in Kansas when we first got engaged. I thought he would be a great person to write about the Sunflower rivalry. (Sunflower is Kansas' state flower.)
He found a good friend of his who LOVE K-State to talk about the K-State.
Tailgating at K-State is almost as important as the game itself. Both are taken very seriously by everyone involved. There is lots of preparation and planning that happens before each game to make sure everyone in your group arrives together, brings the correct food and drinks (the parents of one of my friends always has a theme for the food that somehow relates to eating the other teams mascot – ie chicken when we play the Jayhawks, Bevo burgers when we play Texas, etc.) and has the best time preparing for the game! Parking lot gates open four hours before game time and you must be there right on time or all of the lots get filled very quickly. It always causes the biggest traffic jam as people fight for prime spots in the fields! Once parked, it’s time to set up the pop up tents, tables and chairs, start up the grill, blare your speakers (include a nice mix of country music, top 40 and K-State marching band tunes), raise your K-State flag and pour your beer into a purple solo cup. Good luck using your cell phone from now until after the game because there are currently more people in small town of Manhattan, KS than any other day of the year!
In the hours until game time, it’s full of drinking, eating catching up with lots of friends and family (everyone comes back to Manhattan for gameday!) and washers or other tailgating games. All the while, anticipation and excitement are building for the game!
Fact - one does not miss a K-State pregame. Nothing is better than the emotions during pregame and honestly it is my favorite part of the day. Pregame has not changed much in the 27 years I have been going to games – the Pride of Wildcat Land (the marching band) runs on to the field and blares the Wildcat Fight Song and Wabash Cannonball, the team enters the field lead by a player holding the “Family” sign (“Nothing is more important than family and this one is yours” –Bill Snyder), “Crazy Train” plays along with a video of awesome K-State highlights and Willie tackles the other teams mascot at center field. It never changes and is effective each and every single time. The crowd is going crazy, yelling and beyond ready for the start of the game! From there the teams line up, everyone shakes their keys in the air until kick-off and the game is underway! The rest is a mix of crazy emotions, the crowd Wabashing, Willie doing pushups every time K-State scores and yelling ‘Good for a Wildcat FIRST DOWN!” on each first down.
Hopefully the outcome of the game is in favor of the Wildcats and lately it has been (2012 Big XII Champs!), but we always have the infamous Aggieville to visit either way!
A few things all people in attendance at Bill Snyder Family Stadium must understand: you must wear as much purple as possible, you must know how to Wabash on beat, you must always stand for the fight song and you must understand the Bill Snyder is the greatest college football coach ever – no question.
Wildcats are a very passionate and loyal fan base that will follow the team anywhere in the country and loves every aspect of K-State football. We also understand and appreciate what we have and where we have come from. K-State has come from being labeled as the worst team in college football by Sports Illustrated in 1989 to being respected on the national level today. And because of it there is no better place to be than Manhattan, KS on gameday! EMAW!
Thanks Shannon for giving everyone the K-State experience. I will try to make the Kansas part pretty cool. I have never been to a Kansas football game. I have Kansas friends that could tell me how it is, but if it is like most schools I have a pretty good idea.
The day starts off early for tailgating like most schools. Tailgating will start 3 hours before kick off and you can only drink in the designated tailgating areas. From what I see, Campanile Hill is the place to tailgate. You have an amazing view of the campus as well as Memorial Stadium. You can get your tents set up or reserve a spot with a tent ready to go. Pretty awesome in my mind that you don't have to set up a tent to tailgate. The visitors tailgating is a hike from the stadium. Maybe Kansas does this so they are sure to out drink the competition.
Now over to the Kansas Jayhawks. Everyone heads over to Memorial Stadium as it is game time!! If it is anything like the basketball games...Kansas is a way better at basketball then football, then everybody in the stadium will chant really slowly and loud "Rock Chalk, JayHawk. Rock Chalk, JayHawks, KU." It was pretty cool when Jessa and I went to the basketball game and heard that. As far as the game, it will be all about wearing blue, red and white. Don't get to dressed up because this isn't the south. Just wear those colors and you are fine. Get ready for KU to get their butt kicked. They have been really, really bad. They do have Coach Charlie Weiss and he is known to have explosive offenses and turning programs around. After the game there are plenty of bars to drown your sorrows and cheers to a victory. Where that is...I can't remember in Lawrence.
I know that probably doesn't get you excited to go watch Kansas football, but hopefully you make a trip and get to experience for yourself. Happy tailgating and college football season!!!
I love the dress for K-State by the way. It was amazing!!
Kansas/KSU by onehaolegirl
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