Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Tuesday April 8, 2008...Be a good sport

One of the beauties of living in Kansas City is that you are surrounded by colleges and universities. There are a plethera of sport teams to follow and to be loyal to. One of the hazards of Kansas City is crossing paths of fanatical loyal fans of only one of those teams. Being close to Lawrence, Kansas means there are a lot of Kansas University fans. Being close to Columbia, Missouri means there are a lot of Missouri University fans. Being close to Manhattan, Kansas means there are a lot of Kansas State University fans. And there are the local universities with their fans – UMKC, Baker, Avila, Park, Central Missouri, William Jewell – all with teams of their own.

This week, the Kansas University basketball team won the NCAA basketball tournament, which makes them the national champions of basketball for this year. I am happy that a local team did so well and you would think that all Kansans and others in the area would be happy too, but there seems to be a lot of envy and downright hateful talk among those loyal to other teams. You would think that good sports would congratulate a team on their good fortune and celebrate with them, but all I hear from Missouri fans and Kansas State fans is grumbling about how they really feel bad that Kansas won.

That's a shame, because such honors don't come often and they don't come easy and everyone should be happy that a local team did so well. I mean, it's easy to hate those stupid teams from out on the west coast – they think they are so special. And it's not easy to put up with those snobs from the east coast who think we are hicks from the sticks out here in the midwest. But a good midwestern team winning is a good thing and we should all be good sportsmen and celebrate together.

Let's not be envious of jealous of our local boys, only those on the coasts who deserve it.

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