It is time for another Friday Five, and ahead of Christmas on Sunday, we have the Seinfeld popularized holiday, Festivus. As a guy that has a dad in his mid-50s, I saw plenty of Seinfeld reruns on TBS when he got home from work, and to this day still find myself watching when it comes on.
As most of you know, I grew up with two parents that went to K-State, I attended K-State, met my wife there and love Manhattan more than any other place. But, even with the things that we love in life, we may have some gripes. So allow me to air my five biggest grievances on a spot that I love full well.
1. “THE CHANT” AT NON-KANSAS GAMES
Let me start by saying it would be best if the chant ceased existence at all. It isn’t a great look for a vulgar word to ring throughout a stadium as a representation of your school. But, I understand how people under the age of 22 work because I am two years removed from being in that demographic.
So, if the chant must go on, it has to be limited to just games against Kansas. If you are a chanter, you are a clown for when those words leave your mouth against the FCS opponent to kick off football season, or before tipoff against Baylor.
If you are going to hate Kansas, which isn’t a problem if you are a K-Stater, hate them at the appropriate times.
2. PRIMARY BASKETBALL UNIFORMS
It has been a long time since I have absolutely loved K-State’s primary basketball uniforms. The alternates they have right now are amazing and the white Wildcats should be worn every home game. In part because they are beautiful, and also because the alternative doesn’t do it for me.
The striping on the new set that was introduced in 2019-2020 isn’t appealing and the gray that gets tossed in just adds to the busyness. In addition, the number font is equally as ugly. Go back to the Serpentine or a standard block like the cat scratch uniforms had.
I can also admit that this take might be based on the record since the latest uniform set was introduced, which is an underwhelming 45-59 (11 wins which have happened under Jerome Tang).
I think it is time for a total overhaul of the basketball uniforms, and the court design for good measure too.
3. WILDCAT MARCH
Nothing kills the pregame anticipation and build-up to kickoff quicker than a performance that only serves the band. The K-State band is fantastic and does a great job, it would also not be college football without bands. But even with the history attached to it since John Philip Sousa himself wrote it, it is time to rehome Wildcat March to earlier in pregame or non-football performances.
Sousa also completely botched the name, as he called them the “Kansas Wildcats” in the title of the song. My final, and semi-controversial take on the song, it’s a shame that it didn’t get lost and burnt in the Nicholls fire.
4. THE CAT TRAIN VIDEO
When the Cat Train video disappeared, it was a sad day in my life. As a kid I always had to make sure I was in the stadium before the Cat Train came rolling through.
Is it cheesy? Yes. Do I care that it’s cheesy? No. Bring it back, for the nostalgia and to help cultivate another young crop of K-State fans. Plus, how sweet would Adrian Martinez’s run at Oklahoma or Deuce Vaughn’s touchdown run against TCU look on the side of a train with Ozzy Osbourne screaming in the background?
5. MATH FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
Alright, this is a personal one, I know. But I am not a math guy, that is why I got my journalism degree. Even with that, I still had to grind through some algebra, stats and the gem of a class known as math for elementary school teachers.
I took it because it seemed like the easiest remaining math credit I could steal, but I was wrong. I passed the class but the math skills I learned in there didn’t resemble what elementary schoolers get taught. You also weren’t taught how to teach math to elementary school kids.
The class was tricky and the professor was a hardcore math guy, which one day led to a girl that actually wanted to be a teacher openly questioning him in class about why we would ever need to know some of this. I can’t be the only one that had a needlessly difficult class at K-State.
Honorable mention campus related notes of Eisenhower Hall from my wife, and my dad suggesting his frustration with forcing freshmen to live on campus.
