Carpenter: Kansas fans should be happy with elite basketball program

It’s a scene that’s been duplicated for years. Football season starts, Kansas isn’t any good, and rival fans recycle what I guess they consider to be a good old-fashioned zinger.

“It’s OK, it’s almost basketball season,” people say while pointing and laughing at the scoreboard or a Kansas fan with the “win or lose, we still booze” shirt still prevalent on Jayhawk Boulevard.

I’m just wondering why that’s considered an insult from our friends at Kansas State or Missouri.

I guess it’s all a matter of opinion, but does being average instead of awful really do much for a school or fan base?

What advantages does Wisconsin’s 28th all-time ranked basketball team have over Pittsburgh’s team, ranked 60th in the same ESPN rankings?

What about Iowa football, which is ranked 25th in the all-time AP rankings over Oklahoma State, which is 51st on the same list?

There aren’t any major advantages, because in college football and basketball, you have a group of a dozen or so elite programs and then everyone else.

The only school who could claim elite all-time status in both sports is probably Ohio State.

And Kansas fans are supposed to be embarrassed that they aren’t on par with the Buckeyes?

Don’t run from your one-program dominance.

Embrace it. For a lot of schools across the country, they’re stuck hoping for one of their sports to escape the prison of average for a season or two while only dreaming they had a top-five football or basketball program to follow.

This probably reads like one of those columns that rivals love to point to while making those clever taunts. I don’t care, and neither should you. Late Night in the Phog is eight days away, and Kansas basketball is a top-10 team once again.
Bill Self just signed a contract extension that will likely keep him on the sidelines for another decade. He’ll bring another national championship and a few more Final Four banners to the Fieldhouse in that span while rival programs hope to accomplish a tenth of what Self has already accomplished at Kansas.

As for Kansas football, Charlie Weis may turn things around in a few years and guide Kansas to a few middling bowls before his contract is up. History tells us he won’t, though.

And so what?

It’s OK for fans to hope for better while expecting the same. Last time I checked, fans don’t have a say in the outcome of games. If they did, I’d be writing this column from Vegas.

So when you hear those taunts from K-State fans as the Wildcats score another touchdown on Saturday afternoon in Manhattan, take it as a compliment. They know you’re going to experience this winter what they only hope to experience in their lifetimes.

Contact at kcarpenter@kansan.com .
  • Updated Oct. 3, 2012 at 8:29 pm
  • Edited by Ryan McCarthy
  • 111%

    Kory is from St. Louis. Huge surprise here. Talking trash on a program that is basically .500 with his state college team. Which is not considered a football or basketball school for that matter.

  • http://www.facebook.com/bbieker Benjamin J Bieker

    My god what a horrible article. Our basketball program will always be one of the elite programs in America. Why is it hard to understand that we want our football program to be good as well? No we’ll never be in the elite group (we just don’t have the history) but we can still turn into a program that makes bowl games year in and year out and competes for conference titles. Who wouldn’t want that? KU is doing all they can to turn this program around. It’s something us fans and alumni want. We’re not wanting to be “average” we want to be good/great with the possibility of a BCS bowl every now and then. There is a good chance the school down the road wins the Big XII conference this year. Why can’t that be us? Answer: it can be and I think it will be within the next 10 years. Thanks for your horrible opinion anyways.

  • doubleJ

    The idea that we should want or be fine with a football team that finishes below .500 is ludicrous. There is a huge difference between average and the laughing stock that we were under coach Gill and Allen. I’m tired of it being ok to say “when does basketball season start?” That phrase sickens me. We should all expect all of our teams to be able to compete on the highest levels. Rock Chalk Jayhawk, go KU.

  • s

    This article is a prime example of the glass half empty. Or, in this case, perhaps 90% empty. For crying out loud, our football program is improving. We have pieces in place to start us on the way to becoming a very good program. But I guess in every scenario there’s going to be a ballbuster or two swinging those sledge hammers at those trying to pick themselves up and improve. Unbelievable.

  • JHawk

    I think this article was very well written. Some people can complain that all we do is care about basketball, but really, the majority do. Sure we can cheer on football, but what we all look forward to is basketball. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Kory spoke his mind on what many people secretly (or not so secretly) think and I applaud him for that.

  • NavyJhawk

    I went to KU back in ’07 when out of nowhere Todd and the Gang ran off with 12 wins and an Orange Bowl. We fired Mangino who had an awesome first season (’02 record 2-10) and actually did some good for our program. I don’t expect mediocrity, I demand excellence. I don’t care about our program’s past because it is the past. Our basketball team could easily win half the games it did last year and everyone would erupt into this fire Bill Self riot because you demand excellence. It should be the same at every facet of sports because we are the Jayhawk Nation. Plain and Simple