I think every sport should get at least one post on this site. Hockey received one earlier this year after I went to the game between KU and Mizzou. This time it is football when we come back to the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
That’s right we’re BACK at the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (that is its full title and it is more proper if you address it as such).
Spring Game happened this Saturday, and boy did it happen. If there’s one thing about this Spring Game that you can tell someone, it’s that there definitely was some football there.
I don’t claim to know much about football, but being a part of the KU Marching Jayhawks for almost four years gave me the opportunity to pick up on a few things, but all of that knowledge I gained throughout the years COMPLETELY went away after I went to see this game.
First issue: Teams
Before the game even started we were stuck figuring out which team we were supposed to be rooting for. Blue? White? If you wanted to stick with colors of KU what ever happened to Crimson or Yellow? Maybe the in the next game we’ll be able to see those beautiful McDonalds colors together once more.
Secondly: The scoring system
The Blue Team had the ball for most of the game. They just kept scoring, and most of the time the people in the scoring booth gave them their seven points before they even attempted a field goal.
Every time the Blue Team scored (and they did it a lot) they immediately got the ball back. Unless something in the Official Football Rules™ changed this past year, I thought the other team was supposed to receive the ball after they scored, but nobody seemed to care.
Third: Halftime
It was like 7 minutes. That might not be the exact amount, but it went so quick, nobody in the band could go down to perform anything, or even eat the food that was provided for us.
On second thought, the shorter halftime was probably better for this game. It’s definitely a good warmup after many people not playing since last fall.
Fourth issue: The clock
I don’t know if this is a new thing this year, but in the first half the game had two quarters, and in the second half the game had a clock that never stopped. It certainly made games go by quicker, but it was very odd and very confusing.
But hey! Somehow in the fourth(?) quarter, Team White was able to score seven points by intercepting the ball. I don’t know how the extra point came into being because they weren’t allowed to kick a field goal. I’m honestly surprised that the coach of Team White didn’t call that out to the refs during the game. It just seems like poor sportsmanship.
Overall, it was a very odd game. Hopefully when more happen in the fall, this will turn out better, and the rules will be more clear, but this new system is awful for anyone playing and watching. It’s very confusing.
Congrats to the coach of Blue Team for winning the game however, and better luck next time to Team White and their coach.
I’ll see you all again in the fall for my final year in the Marching Band.
Kristopher K. Online 