Iowa State fans seen and heard in downtown Kansas City

Pity the Kansas City downtown employee pulling out of a parking garage about 5 p.m. Thursday. Heading home to Lee’s Summit or Overland Park at that moment required a load of patience and what appeared to be superb traffic control as thousands of basketball fans poured into the streets.

The late afternoon hour just happened to be the intersection of the Sprint Center emptying out with mostly relieved Kansas fans, who had just witnessed a five-point survival of TCU, and giddy Iowa State faithful making their way back to the arena from the Kansas City Convention Center, where a pep rally lifted already soaring spirits.

Big 12 Tournament week is, as usual, an Iowa State party. Kansas is the top seed. Kansas State is closer to Kansas City. Baylor believes it has as good a chance of winning as anybody.

But no fans revel in the moment and in such numbers like Iowa State’s.

We’ve always known this, Iowa State’s overwhelming presence in Kansas City. The bars and restaurants feel the fans’ spending power. Sprint Center, like Kemper Arena before it, hears their roar and boos over calls that dare go the other way.

They obtain more than their share of allotted tickets by working it, calling other schools to purchase their unused seats. This year, some 5,300 tickets were sold to Iowa State fans through the university.

Thursday, I wanted to see this collective energy in action, outside the arena. The pep rally was the second annual event and will remain on the calendar for the simple reason that the area around Sprint Center, including Kansas City Live at the Power & Light District, isn’t big enough to accommodate the throng, along with fans from other bases.

“Our feedback from our fans was to have our own,” said Lindsey Long, Iowa State director of special events.

More than 1,000 Iowa State fans made their way up 13th Street and into Bartle Hall, where the Royals held their Fan Fest in January. The Cyclones packed room 2103 and kept four cash bars busy along with the band, dance team and cheerleaders.

While waiting for the cheering to begin, some followed the Kansas game on their cell phones, pulling for the Horned Frogs as much for the tickets that would become available with a KU loss as much as eliminating competition.

Most fans sat at tables, others sat on the floor or leaned against the wall, and finally Jeff Johnson, president of the ISU alumni association, grabbed the mic for some rabble rousing, reminding fans who won last year’s tournament (Iowa State), and kept it going by rattling off some enrollment statistics that compare favorably to a school not in the tournament (Iowa).

But the event wasn’t complete. The rally was to include athletic director Jamie Pollard, who on Monday suffered a heart attack while watching his daughter’s track meet. Iowa State president Steven Leath provided an update Thursday.

“I know a lot of you were hoping to see Jamie Pollard, and I was too,” Leath said. “He’s doing better. He got out of bed today for the first time, and with a little luck will have his chest tubes removed today and will be out of intensive care.”

Loud applause.

Acting athletic director David Harris was working late in his office Monday when he got the news and was stunned.

“This has been about a lot of people in the department pulling together,” Harris said.

A final fight song sent the fans out the doors, and as Long collected banners and table displays, she could only think of one way to improve upon the experience.

Bring the women’s tournament to the same city. That way, fans wouldn’t be split or forced to choose one event. Kansas City has bid to host the women’s and men’s tournaments from 2017-20 and should know the outcome of the process by June.

“We would love that,” Long said.

In Kansas City, only the working stiff looking to leave downtown for home around 5 p.m. might not.

This story was originally published March 12, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Iowa State fans seen and heard in downtown Kansas City."