The One with the Bad Seat
Disclaimer: This post is especially for Rachel (I know, they all are, but this one even more so). It's a lot of pressure. I hope I can do it some justice.
LAST Wednesday night Chandler, David and I went to the Colordo game. It was the first game we've taken the little guy too. When I told Rachel we were going and that we would probably end up in nosebleed, she said "that's ok, there's not a bad seat in Allen Fieldhouse." Well, she was wrong. We managed to locate the one bad seat! We were in the very last row of the crow's nest, the northwest corner of the fieldhouse. That would have been fine, except we were behind one of those big blue metal things that holds up the roof! David and I could barely see, one at a time, if I held my knees just right. Chandler couldn't see anything except the bright blue rafter.
I saved the day when I realized we could crawl under the rafter and there were a couple of seats on the other side! Once we got there, we all had a great time. David was really into the game: he put his little arms up when they shot free throws, he clapped and hooted when they made a basket, and after I explained that the Jayhawks were wearing white and the Colorado Buffalos were wearing black ... he vehemently cheered for the "white guys," declaring often, and loudly, that "we don't like the black guys." Oops, my bad. We're still correcting his "white guys" to "Jayhawks" this week. I don't want folks thinking he's a three-year-old racist!!! If only they had been wearing blue and gold!
The best part of the game was not the 21 point win over Colorado, or the whooping and hollering that occurred every time the Texas - Texas A&M score flashed on the scoreboard, or even the beautiful new additions to the fieldhouse. The best part was seeing the entire Fieldhouse sit in their seats during halftime to honor Max Falkenstien's 60-year career as a Jayhawk radio announcer. Although it's been the Bob and Max show for 20 years, Max was around way before that started. Max's long career with the Jayhawks includes never missing a single game in Allen Fieldhouse! After an opening by Bob and some heartfelt thanks by Max, they dimmed the lights and retired a jersey just for Max ... No. 60! Afterwards, he let out a "Go Hawks!" I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed (of course!), remembering all those times we've muted our TV and tuned our radio to listen to Bob and Max. No TV announcer could call a Jayhawk basketball game better than the man who's called over 1,750 games, and my college memories wouldn't be complete without him.
"We had thousands of laughs, a few tears, great victories, crushing defeats. I’ll miss Bob Davis.” ~ Max Falkenstien
We'll miss you, Max.
LAST Wednesday night Chandler, David and I went to the Colordo game. It was the first game we've taken the little guy too. When I told Rachel we were going and that we would probably end up in nosebleed, she said "that's ok, there's not a bad seat in Allen Fieldhouse." Well, she was wrong. We managed to locate the one bad seat! We were in the very last row of the crow's nest, the northwest corner of the fieldhouse. That would have been fine, except we were behind one of those big blue metal things that holds up the roof! David and I could barely see, one at a time, if I held my knees just right. Chandler couldn't see anything except the bright blue rafter.
I saved the day when I realized we could crawl under the rafter and there were a couple of seats on the other side! Once we got there, we all had a great time. David was really into the game: he put his little arms up when they shot free throws, he clapped and hooted when they made a basket, and after I explained that the Jayhawks were wearing white and the Colorado Buffalos were wearing black ... he vehemently cheered for the "white guys," declaring often, and loudly, that "we don't like the black guys." Oops, my bad. We're still correcting his "white guys" to "Jayhawks" this week. I don't want folks thinking he's a three-year-old racist!!! If only they had been wearing blue and gold!
The best part of the game was not the 21 point win over Colorado, or the whooping and hollering that occurred every time the Texas - Texas A&M score flashed on the scoreboard, or even the beautiful new additions to the fieldhouse. The best part was seeing the entire Fieldhouse sit in their seats during halftime to honor Max Falkenstien's 60-year career as a Jayhawk radio announcer. Although it's been the Bob and Max show for 20 years, Max was around way before that started. Max's long career with the Jayhawks includes never missing a single game in Allen Fieldhouse! After an opening by Bob and some heartfelt thanks by Max, they dimmed the lights and retired a jersey just for Max ... No. 60! Afterwards, he let out a "Go Hawks!" I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed (of course!), remembering all those times we've muted our TV and tuned our radio to listen to Bob and Max. No TV announcer could call a Jayhawk basketball game better than the man who's called over 1,750 games, and my college memories wouldn't be complete without him.
"We had thousands of laughs, a few tears, great victories, crushing defeats. I’ll miss Bob Davis.” ~ Max Falkenstien
We'll miss you, Max.
posted by Monica at
9:49 AM
3 Comments:
Also, I couldn't get these pictures to upload, but there are some great pictures from Max's retirement at this site: http://www2.kusports.com/photos/galleries/2006/mar/01/max_falkenstien_retires/
Enjoy!
By
Monica, at 11:21 PM
That is so funny about David and "the black guys"! I wish Rachel could have been there with you. She would appreciate what Max said before he said "Go Hawks" - that as a radio announcer you have to be unbiased and can't cheer for your own team. But you know how bad you must want to! Glad you had a good time.
By
Diana, at 3:36 AM
Very nice post, Mon. Glad you finally finished it. That is funny what he said about the black guys. I'm sure he has some relatives in Oklahoma that would not have disapproved. :)
I'll really miss Max. It's not the same without him. I can't remember a time that I lived in Lawrence and listened to the TV announcers. I didn't even know how annoying Dick Vitale was until I moved to Texas. Then they started putting it on the internet with a paid subscription that I always buy. I can't listen to it because the tape delay annoys Ross, but I probably will during the playoffs.
I thought it was cute when he said that he even got a standing ovation at Missouri of all places. It just goes to show how much he has meant to the conference as well as Kansas fans. 60 years is a long time to do anything. I'll definitely miss him.
By
Rachel, at 6:32 PM
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