KU fans overjoyed with Jayhawks’ national title victory over North Carolina Tar Heels
Overjoyed Jayhawks fans erupted into celebration in Lawrence on Monday night as the University of Kansas overcame a tough matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels and claimed the NCAA men’s basketball championship for the first time since 2008.
Patrons in bars along Massachusetts Street fanned out as the game ended 72-69, starting an impromptu parade. Domestic beers were poured, fireworks fired and music played from loudspeakers as people danced and paraded down the street.
Several joined in song with speakers blaring from open windows in a rendition of “We Are The Champions” by Queen. Some sat on friends’ shoulders as they were carried down a tide of blue and red that flowed down the historic celebration ground for Jayhawks victories.
“It’s awesome. I’m so excited,” said Cole Kellem, 23, of Lawrence, a lifelong Jayhawks fan. “I really loved David McCormack inside all night. I love it when they feed the big man.”
“It was a great show. I loved every second of it,” he said.
Many fans were put on edge during the back-and-forth match with North Carolina that sent the Jayhawks to the locker room at halftime trailing by 15 points, 40-25. A commanding display of defense allowed the Jayhawks to resume control throughout much of the second half, though the score remained tight until the final moments of the game.
Outside Sandbar just off Massachusetts Street, hundreds watched from the street and inside the bar as the tight lead KU held was tested by UNC. Some clasped hands on top of their heads as they watched the game unfold live on two large flatscreens underneath canopies outside.
“What is happening?” one man yelled to no one in particular as the Jayhawks clung to a narrow lead in the last remaining seconds on the clock.
One of the bar owners, David Johanning, is a former Jayhawk who played with the team during the 1990s. He said the bar had seen a heavy showing of fans — at least several hundred, by his count — come through for the exciting run on Monday.
“We’re a fun bar. We like to dance and have fun,” Johanning said.
As a parade of partiers swarmed by on Mass Street, Sandy Moore, 38, recalled how the Jayhawks were able to come back in the second half. She said the historic comeback was the biggest highlight of the night.
“We’ve always been a second-half team,” said Moore, of New York, a 2008 KU graduate who flew out for the game from New York.
Fans across Lawrence kept the faith as the Jayhawks trailed UNC after the first half. That came after a strong showing in the first two minutes that gave the Jayhawks a commanding advantage over the No. 8 seed Tar Heels.
“Good start, bad finish,” said Jim Fischer of Overland Park, walking away from the seated arena in Allen Fieldhouse at halftime alongside hundreds of other fans up to stretch their legs.
“They can get back in it,” he added.
Hundreds gathered at the fieldhouse for a watch party broadcast live from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. They erupted in cheers at every Jayhawks score, spending much of the first part of the first half on their feet.
Derrick Ford, 45, said he wanted to witness a KU win for the second time since he started on as a fan of the team. A native of Greeneville, Mississippi, Ford said he became drawn to the championship culture and the history of the team after moving to Kansas City and watched the latest championship win from Power & Light in 2008.
“I remember Derrick Rose was supposed to beat us. He was supposedly the top tier, number one (player) and we beat him. It was a good year.”
Jay Quickel, 58, of Overland Park, who got a graduate degree from KU in 2004, said he came out to see the game with his daughter, a KU junior. Raised to be lifelong fan — his first name is after the team, he said — he couldn’t think of a better place to watch.
“For me, it’s like the holy land,” he said. “It’s like going to church. And I couldn’t think of a better place to watch the game honestly.”
The stretch of bars on Mass Street — a historic celebration ground for Jayhawks victories — was packed with fans young and old donning red and blue hours before tipoff. Streets were blocked off as fans crowded into taverns and prepared for watch parties.
Myke Riley, 36-year old from Topeka, was out on Mass Street decked out with blue and red feather leis and socks. He comes from a family of KU alums and has been part of Jayhawks nation since his doctor gave him a blue and red booster shot at birth, he joked.
“I am thrilled through and through,” said Riley of the championship matchup, adding: “I think it’s our time and the state of Kansas really needs this because we’ve been through so much hate and so much evil going on the past two years all over.
“But if we could bring a ‘chip back, this would bring the state of Kansas together once again.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 9:38 PM.
