It's been an incredibly slow news day today on the Kansas City sports front, so I want to talk about something near and dear to all of our hearts: Live sporting events. Some of us have witnessed iconic moments, infamous meltdowns, and everything in between not from a TV screen, but right there in person, and I want to discuss which events my audience has been to and the emotions felt during those moments. Good or bad, sports can make us feel a wide range of emotions, which is part of what makes them so ingrained into our culture. I'll name off a few that I have been there to witness, and I encourage you to do the same!
KU Football Bowl Eligible for the First Time in 14 Years (November 5th, 2022)
The latest iconic moment I've witnessed hopefully has signaled the turnaround for KU football we've waited so long for. KU beat Oklahoma State 37-16 to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2008. After going 5-0 and putting on spectacular displays of offense throughout each game, I knew this KU team may have very well been the team that broke the curse, and they proved me right. Elation and pandemonium are the best words to describe witnessing that day, as the storming of the field felt like it had meant something for the first time in a very, VERY long time. Being there with my girlfriend Sarah, a fellow KU alum, made it that much sweeter, and I'll never forget it.
Arrowhead Going BALLISTIC Over Carl Cheffers (October 10th, 2022)
Luckily the Chiefs ended up winning this game, but boy howdy was it close. A certain official that has, in the past, caught quite a bit of heat from Chiefs Kingdom certainly didn't help. I am of course talking about Carl Cheffers, I believe I even wrote an article about him. Cheffers proved why Chiefs Kingdom so strongly dislikes him with this game, blowing call after call in what felt like one of the most rigged sporting events I've ever watched... or at least that's how it felt. I remember losing my voice completely after screaming (and I mean screaming) with my buddies Gavin, Devin, and Jordan along with a couple of their dads. I remember starting a "Refs You Suck" chant and getting on TV. I remember Cheffers's voice cracking as the boos came raining down on him. I've never seen a sports crowd that ravenous before, and before that I had been to Arrowhead, known for a raucous crowd mind you, multiple times before. I never said these memories had to be good, just memorable (and to be frank, since the Chiefs ended up winning, it was kind of fun, albeit at Cheffers's expense)
KU Rugby Winning the East Regional and Going to the National Final for the First Time Ever (April 10th, 2022)
Okay, so there may be a bit of recency bias with this list. My sports teams (with the exception of KU basketball) have been up and very, very far down over the years, I haven't attended a ton of sporting events where there's been a super memorable, defining moment (Though the memories at the games I have been to and played in are still with me and I am forever thankful to be privileged enough to attend and play in a lot of sporting events over my lifetime), and my memory is well...not that great. I digress however, as I wanted to give a shoutout to my guys at KU Rugby. Watching this game as an alum made me feel incredibly proud at the direction of which the club is headed, and to watch as my alma mater squad make the national championship for the first time ever gave me an incredibly surreal, euphoric feeling. KU Rugby beat Texas State 17-10 in the East Region Final to advance to the championship, and though they came within only mere meters of winning said championship against Fresno State, I still couldn't be prouder to call myself a Jayhawk Rugby alum.
What are some of your most memorable sporting moments you've witnessed in person though? Any good memories? Bad ones? Ones you'll never forget? Leave them down in the comments below and have some fun going down memory lane!
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