This is an article I had published in our local paper in 2008 after attending the KU-VT Orange Bowl.

KU vs. VT: A Trip of a Lifetime!

As I sit here in our snow-covered home writing this, a mere twenty-two hours removed from Miami, I’m still overwhelmed with elation. A KU fan my entire life, I was fortunate to experience a trip of a lifetime, a witness to history surrounded by Crimson and Blue in observing from up above in Dolphin stadium KU’s victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl in Miami!

All of my stars were aligned to make this trip. I had two personal days saved, and used a deduct salary day to miss three days of teaching. My older sister’s sons, both KU students, persuaded their parents to make this a family vacation, and asked us to join them. My husband Wes, a rabid Kansas State University fan, politely agreed after being reminded that I accompanied him to the KSU Cotton Bowl appearance several years ago. With their family of six, my husband and I slid in on their coattails for a bandwagon of 8 loyal KU fans submerged alongside a landside of the KU faithful to fly down on the Official KU tour 4-day excursion. You mix family, a winning football team, a tropical (albeit chilly a day or two) climate, and you’ve got the recipe for euphoria.

There’s something amazing about a KU Bowl experience. It’s as festive as an atmosphere could be, surrounded by the colors of patriotism and the Gregorian chants of Rock Chalk everywhere. Staying in a four-star hotel in the financial district of downtown Miami, it was a culture shock. We were fortunate to be right on Biscayne Bay, and could look out our 16th floor window and see dolphins playing in the bay every morning. We celebrated the New Year’s overlooking the Atlantic, with fireworks ablaze, alongside hundreds of thousands of locals. We learned just how foreign the town is when the countdown occurred in Spanish, up until the final ten seconds. We dined on unique cuisine, and took an airboat ride in the Everglades and actually spotted large alligators. We took a shuttle to South Beach and enjoyed the ocean before the cold front arrived. We observed the massive cruise ships arrive and depart for their majestic ocean destinations.

Aside from the festive atmosphere, and red and blue everywhere, game day had to be the most exciting. Those on the tour were treated to a police escort on the busy freeways of Miami. It was something special to be in a conga line of at least 14-chartered busloads of crimson and blue. We were escorted by the motorcycle police who stopped traffic on the jammed and clogged freeways of Miami for the KU faithful for our trek to Dolphin Stadium. I felt like I was in the presidential motorcade.

We were blessed that we had KU alumni in our tribe, which allowed us to attend a KU Alumni Barbeque. Situated at a racetrack a mile from the stadium, the weather may not have been as accommodating as we would have liked. However, the elation and excitement of being surrounded with several thousand KU fans quickly erased any thought of suffering through the record cold-temperatures Miami experienced when the KU band and cheerleaders started performing.

We arrived at the stadium an hour early, and politely nodded heads at the Virginia Tech Hokie faithful as we made the jaunt to the upper decks. There was an innate respect for the Hokies. How could anyone taunt them after they endured a campus-wide tragedy that shocked the nation? It was polite respect.

Once the game began, it was like time stood still. As both a former collegiate athlete and a high school coach, I knew I couldn’t relax until the fat lady began orating the Rock Chalk Chant. As a self-processed neurotic, I began to panic after the first missed field goal. However, once Aqib Talib intercepted a pass and sashayed it into the end zone in the first quarter, comfort seeped in and really never wavered until the fourth quarter.

While a few trick plays made most of the game exciting, it wasn’t until the final quarter that the panic began to creep back in when the Hokies made it a three-point game at 24-21. It was evident that Todd “Sparky” Reesing had a chip on his back and was out to prove the Hawks deserved a BCS bid. As the final three minutes ticked away, it was tough to relax until KU recovered an onside kick at the Tech forty-two yard line. It was reminiscent of pulling hard taffy, grinding out yard after yard, and until KU eked out a couple of first downs to get the 1, I felt both wickedly elated and a tad bit pensive. It was great drama watching the offense methodically move down towards that 1-yard line. It left a bizarre quandary with less than a minute left: Should they go for it, or should they let the clock tick away? It was awesome to see the Hawks in a tight formation, the clock ticking away, and then for Reesing to kneel and run to mid-field, tossing the ball up in the air and giving a Tiger Wood’s like fist pump!

The naysayers and odds makers in Vegas probably thought KU would win the BCS Orange Bowl when Miami freezes over. Well, both occurred, and I was fortunate to witness an event of a lifetime, surrounded by family and friends, and wearing the patriotic colors of our country!

Yes Virginia, there is a Kansas!