>OK, KG, I have to ask. Why the fixation with Kansas basketball? Did you go there?
>
>No...but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express in Kansas once. :)
>
>
>If you really want the history....I became a KC Chiefs fan in October 1991. There was a MNF game at Arrowhead between the (then) defending AFC champion Bills and the upstart KC Chiefs. The Chiefs were terrible throughout much of the 70's and 80's, but were on the rise in the early 1990's. In the game, the KC defense sacked Jim Kelly countless times, forced many turnovers, and ran the ball down Buffalo's throats (courtesy of Christian Okoye). The fans at Arrowhead were louder than any fans I'd ever seen/heard. I fell in love with the KC Chiefs on that night. (KC won the game, 33-6, but it wasn't even that close)
>
>As for the Jayhawks, in the mid 90's I worked for a company that was HQd in Topeka, and visited there a few times a year. At the time, I liked college hoops but didn't really root for anyone. Well, after a few trips in Lawrence when I was out there, I became a huge Jayhawks fan. While I also root for other college teams (Gonzaga, West Virginia), you won't find a bigger Jayhawk fanatic. I tape every game, and watch it afterwards at least one additional time.
>
>And anytime I need some perking up, I replay the KU/UNC Final 4 game in 2008. That game is just too sweet to watch!!!! Watching that game is like watching Dexter successfully hunt down a bad guy. :)

I was just curious. KC does have good fans, especially when you consider they usually don't have much to cheer for. The Jayhawks are an exception.

My nomination for the best sports fans in the country: St. Louis. The Cardinals repeatedly sign guys who decide to stay there despite higher offers elsewhere. They know the game, too. Wrigley Field is supposed to be a shrine -- which of course it is -- but I would rather watch a ballgame in St. Louis than anywhere else.

Now here is a deal for you. If your travels should bring you to Chicago, we'll take in a game at Wrigley or (better) Miller Park. My treat. The Brewers do this thing at home games on Sundays that is too cool for school. Nine kids who won some sort of lottery are announced, each of them running out to a position. Then the real Brewers are introduced and stand next to the kids for the playing of the national anthem. Priceless. Like lots of things in Wisconsin, it has an old time family feel. Tamar says the Phillies do the same thing but I have not seen it anywhere else.

Add Wisconsin: I was pleased to read an article in the current Sports Illustrated about Mark Johnson, who now coaches the kickass UW women's team and is coaching the U.S. women's team in the Olympics. It brought back lots of memories of Mad Town and that hockey team, the "miracle on ice." I had graduated from UW in December and was living with my girlfriend, a local girl. She had been in the same First Communion class as Mark Johnson. Not that much was expected of the U.S. team. The Soviets were professionals and thought to be unbeatable. The Americans beat them, 4-2, with Johnson scoring a key goal. This is how long ago it was -- the game was not on TV live. Cindi's Uncle Don called her mom's house, where we were having dinner and waiting to watch the game, and spilled the beans. What an uproar. Cindi's mom was screaming at him on the phone, "Don, you d**k, I'm going to get you for this!" LOL You can bet we watched the game, though. That scene of goalie Jim Craig wearing a flag and looking for his father in the crowd was a classic lump in your throat moment.

Many people seem to remember that as the gold medal game. It wasn't. That was against Finland on Sunday morning.

Wisconsin was seriously over represented in those games and there was a rally in Camp Randall Stadium a couple of Sundays later. It was freezing and the place was packed to the rafters. Not only Johnson and the other hockey players but also Eric Heiden, his sister Beth, and some others. That was a great day to live in Madison. Of course, any day is <g>.

UPDATE: http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Craig_Jim.html