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COLUMN:   From the Sidelines

My visit to Tobacco Road this past week was great.

I met my dad and some of his friends in Greensboro, N.C. to watch six first and second round NCAA men’s tournament basketball games.

We saw some good basketball and my dad and I were able to get in a rare visit with just the two of us.

Duke beat Texas in a game that came down to the final minute. My hatred for Duke was elevated when they won in front of thousands of fans at a supposed “neutral” court in its home state.

The University of North Carolina also played there during the week, defeating Radford University and Louisiana State University on its way to the Sweet 16.

UNC senior Tyler Hansbrough broke the all-time Atlantic Coast Conference scoring record during the LSU game.

Of course, that did nothing to make me actually like UNC.

Four days of worrying about nothing but basketball and hanging out with 15 other guys doing the same thing is a lot of fun.

However, there was one thing bugging me on the trip.

As I landed in Raleigh, I realized I did not have a KU hat to wear during the trip.

I knew it was North Carolina, but surely the mall would have one Jayhawk hat.

A few guys on the trip, all of whom live in different parts of the U.S., said I would never find one.

I brushed them off because Tar Heel country might be upset after the ’Hawks crushed UNC in the Final Four, but how could you not carry a hat of the defending national champion?

As I made my way into Lids, a national-chain hat store, I looked around but found no Crimson and Blue hats.

I asked a guy working behind the register: “I know this is North Carolina, but do you have any Jayhawk hats?”

He immediately said “No,” as if I had just asked him to give me all the money in his wallet.

“Check upstairs at Sports Fan Attic,” he said half-heartily.

I went there and to my liking, it was twice the size of Lids.

I started looking around, and again saw nothing but Carolina Blue.

Sure there were some Texas, Alabama, and Florida hats, but still no Jayhawk.

I asked a worker, and he gave me the same look as the guy at Lids.

He had me try one more place.

Once again, no KU hat.

I realize that particular mall is 1,000 miles from Kansas, but people, we are talking about the defending national champions.

In one final, almost desperate, attempt I went back to Lids, hoping the guy was wrong.

“Back again,” he said as I walked in.

“Yeah, I need to look for something else,” I lied.

To my dismay, I soon realized going back into the store was a mistake.

There, on the bottom row, hung a black and gold hat with a tiger logo in the center.

That black and gold was not for Wichita State University, I might add.

“You have a Missouri hat, but no KU one?”

“It must be a mistake,” he said. “Someone must have returned it from another store.”

He went on to say they just had local hats and hats that sell well.

“We have hats some people just buy for the colors,” he said.

I knew that already, but it pained me that a Mizzou fan could have walked in there and found a hat but I couldn’t.

As I walked out I went to find my dad a birthday present, hoping maybe along the way I would stumble onto something with a Jayhawk on it.

One last sports store that specialized in accessories more than clothes remained on the way out.

As I went in to find my dad something, I kept one eye peeled for Jayhawk paraphernalia.

There were none to be found, so I focused on my dad. After looking around the store, I noticed a sharp-looking New York Yankees coffee mug.

“He’ll like that,” I thought.

Then I realized I would have to touch it, and as a Yankee-Hater, that is not easy to do.

In just one hour in that North Carolina mall, I was surrounded by UNC and Duke blue, forced to look at a Missouri hat, and touch (and pay for) a New York Yankees coffee mug, all the while not being able to find a KU hat.

However, four days of basketball and hanging with my dad made it more than worth it.

Last modified March 26, 2009

 

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