Every morning, I like to glance at the Metro, London’s free newspaper found in its underground transit stations. The Metro, is more like a tabloid paper than a newspaper, though, often boasting frivolous headlines delivering more laughs than truths. It’s made to be picked up, gazed at and put back down for the next traveller. That is its purpose.
So I like to read the headlines and flip through the Metro, as it tries to be London’s shouting voice, read by thousands every day. But Monday’s headline was different. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was trying to say, but it did make the story clear: Andy Murray tearfully lost in Sunday’s Wimbledon Final, furthering the nations 70+year Wimbledon drought.
“NEW BAWLS PLEASE”
The bold words jumped off the left side of the page, as if they were under a magnifying glass. The seemingly less important story sat shrunken below the titanic font. One full length picture of Murray crying during his consolation speech took up the right half of the page, while his (incredibly attractive)* girlfriend was pictured on the top left corner, also “bawling.”
*I was told twice on Sunday that I looked like Andy Murray. I do not, and never have dated anyone that looks like that..But now, there is hope.
There was this one question that I kept asking myself, as I stared at the United Kingdom’s “heartbreaking” loss. What did they expect?
Did they expect their local hero to finally have his break through win against the greatest player our generation will ever see?* Did they expect Roger Federer’s comeback story to fall short against a player who is known to underachieve in major tournaments? Did the really expect all of it to happen on the grass courts, where Federer has built a shell that’s only been cracked by Rafael Nadal?
*And a player that will one day be known as the greatest of all time.
I understand that they had no choice but to cheer wildly, to try and heave Andy Murray over the hump. I understand why the big screens went up in Hyde Park to festively cheer for Murray. But I don’t understand how they, or anybody for that matter, could really think that Andy Murray’s time had come.
And what I really don’t understand, is how could they let Murray’s loss take precedent over Federer’s four set triumph.
Forget the head-to-head record between the two players. This was Roger Federer’s tournament, it has been since 2003, and somehow, Murray took the main stage, even when he lost. Imagine Tiger Woods being tied with Paul Casey and Ian Poulter with nine holes left at the British Open, and the crowd pulls for their English heroes. Fine. Understandable. But when Tiger wins, his fist pump should be on the front page.
Federer’s next big moment, his march forward toward history, was lost and forgotten in the United Kingdom on Sunday.
Murray’s tears screamed louder than Federer’s elation, but they shouldn’t have.
The headlines were wrong on Monday morning. And I suppose they will be, again, after Murray loses in the Olympics, at Wimbledon, to a player that is simply better.
The bouncer took one look at us. He knew what we wanted.
“You guys trying to watch the game?” he said. “You don’t want to go here. Go two doors down. That’s where you want to be.”
To reiterate that: the bouncer for one pub directed us to a different, competing pub two doors down. Unusual, right? But this is soccer in England. This is the EURO Cup. This is different.
Two doors down stood the Montagu Pyke, a pub with big glass doors showcasing the hundreds of people standing inside inside. Tables that would normally fill the main floor were nowhere to be seen. Every inch of space was needed for the max capacity crowd who crowded to see to the large projector screen at the back of the bar.
This is what we were looking for: A beer swallowing, roughneck holding, anthem singing pub that was unlike anything we had ever seen before.
Oh my God
The merry melodies had stopped. All that remained was anger, foul language and England fans ready to wring the necks of their national team. In other words, it was a typical match for an England team that has disappointed it’s disgruntled fans for years.
They were tied with Sweeden 1-1 — a game England had to win to advance out of the group stage of the Euro cup.
Then Sweeden scored, 2-1 Swedes, and the circus went silent. Our group of eight looked at each other wide eyed. The first words I heard in the entire bulding came from the man in front of me who was standing at a bent, drunken angle. He turned to his “mate” and quietly said:
“Oh my god.”
I was expecting a scene out of Europtrip to break out. I was waiting for one of three things: 1. England would lose and someone would get hurt. 2. England would draw and someone would get hurt. 3. England would win and the building would explode…and someone would get hurt.
Then the room blew.
The Beer Shower Part I
Beer flew like pig’s dream of when Theo Walcott made a shot equivalent to a 25-foot NBA three. Just like that, 2-2 England was alive.
People who were too drunk to stand straight were suddenly sober enough to jump like they were 18 years old. These middle-aged, rowdy England fans were arm in arm, giddy like children for what they had seen. And we where right there wih them, even our friend from rival-nation Portugal, said he’d make an exception to cheer for England this one time. It was contagious.
And this wasn’t a unique phenomena to our corner in Camden. The same thing was happening in Liverpool, Manchester and everywhere where England fans dominant the scene. Within a 10 second span, an entire nation roared.
We were all soaked. Not just the eight of us in our group, but the entire bar had just taken a beer bath and everyone wanted to do it again.
Cue the music. Cue the simple chant known as, “The England Chant”. Cue another known as “The Great Escape.” Cue it all. Together, the hundreds in attendance began to sing for their country, for their team. Simple songs that these men have known since they were children. Simple songs that meant something.
England had avoided a national disaster, for the time being.
The Beer Shower: Part II
You know the passion that surrounds college sports? Imagine if you took the passion for one school and compounded it into an entire country. That’s what soccer is in Europe.
In the 79th minute, a beautifully creative no-look goal off the back of Danny Welbeck’s foot unleashed the fury of that national pride
By the time it was done, beer was literally dripping from the ceiling – and my hair.
When the ball went in, I found myself jumping, arm in arm with my roommate, Conner, and the random British guy next to us. I was hugging strangers. Chanting EN-GA-LAND with them. I was sold. I was a fan. I was part of the them.
10 minutes later, we did it all again. The game was over. England won. England survived. England celebrated.
The soccer experience is unique to this other side of the world. It’s wherethe game never stops. Not when it rains, which it often does, and not when the queen is parading about London. It made me understand why its the world’s most popular sport. It unites people. It unites nations.
And I only have one person to thank for having this experience: the honest bouncer from two doors down, who probably wasn’t so honest and just didn’t want some loud-mouthed Americans in his pub.
Senior quarterback Dayne Crist was sitting down when he was handed a slip of paper. He wrote the name Tanner Hawkinson on it, folded it to shield his vote and turned it in.
“I didn’t want Tanner to know I voted for him,” Crist said with a smile.
The team chose its captains for the upcoming season on Monday. There was supposed to be only one offensive player and one defensive player named as captain, but, when it came down to it, the voting was just too close.
On Tuesday, Charlie Weis announced that Crist, senior offensive lineman Tanner Hawkinson and senior defensive lineman Toben Opurum will be the Jayhawks’ captains next season. There will also be a special teams captain named on a game-by-game basis, based on the top performers from the previous week.
“I couldn’t have handpicked three players any better than that,” Weis said.
Both Hawkinson and Opurum have already played three years at Kansas, and Crist is a highly touted fifth-year senior who transferred from Notre Dame.
Weis’ decision to hold the vote for captains this early in the season is an unusual one. In the past, Kansas has named its captains in August, not April.
“It definitely caught me by surprise,” Opurum said. “Usually, we wait until the beginning of the season, so we can see how guys perform during the summer and training camp.”
But after running back James Sims was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence and both sophomore linebacker Collin Garrett and red-shirt freshman cornerback Chris Robinson were dismissed from the team for violating rules, Kansas football needed to reinforce its discipline.
So, in May, when most of the coaching staff will be recruiting and Weis will be campaigning to boosters and alumni, the Jayhawks will need some disciplinary leaders to grab hold of the team. The coaching staff won’t be able to do any coaching in June, so it’s up to the captains to make sure the Jayhawks stay on track.
“The next time we’ll be able to get our hand on them is when they report the evening of August 1, and August 2 we’ll begin our first acclimation period,” Weis said. “So I think it’s really important, especially for a team to go through a transition, to have some leadership that’s been documented.”
This will be Opurum’s second year as a captain for Kansas, while Hawkinson — who has started all 36 games he’s been eligible to play for Kansas — received the position for the first time.
“It’s great to think that your teammates vote for you as a captain for the team,” Hawkinson said. “It’s definitely an honor.”
A chance to show off
And the three captains are sure to be leaders for the Jayhawks on Saturday, April 28, as the Jayhawks will play in their annual spring football game. The free game will feature 15 minute quarters with a running game clock.
Kansas will play itself, as the blue team will face the white team in a game that Weis said the Jayhawks won’t hold back in.
“I would not call it a glorified scrimmage,” Weis said. “ It is going to be more competitive than that.”
Saturday’s game will be the first opportunity for the Jayhawks to show off any improvement they’ve made since the conclusion of their 2-10 season in December. After season ended, the Kansas fired and hired a new football staff and added multiple key players to the team.
Dayne Crist and Sophomore Jake Heaps both transferred to Kansas — Heaps from Brigham Young University and Crist from Notre Dame —and were both ranked the top high school quarterback in their class.
Heaps is not eligible to play this season for the Jayahwks because of his transfer status, but he will be able to play in the spring game and give Kansas football fans a glimpse into the future.
Opposite Heaps will be Crist, who will have to answer to high expectations on Saturday. But meeting those expectations does not concern Crist, not yet at least.
“We’ve got to stay healthy,” Crist said. “The last thing you want to do is lose a guy in the spring game. It’s great to get out there and have fans around, but at the end of the day you just want to get out of that game healthy.”
And as the Jayhawks approach their final spring practice together, Weis said he’s encouraged with the discipline his remaining players have shown. He said along with the three captains, the players who remain are helping Kansas turn the corner.
“We have made great strides,” Weis said. “I think that there is still a bunch of questions, but there are also a lot of answers too. I have a lot better feel for our football team.”
Transcript:
Mike Vernon (Host): Following Tuesday’s practice, head coach Charlie Weis announced team captains for the Jayahwks’ upcoming season.
Charlie Weis: It was a landslide victory for Toben, so Toben will be the defensive captain. Offensively, in this election year, it was too close to call between Dayne and Tanner, so Dayne and Tanner will both represent the offense. It won’t be just Dayne, it won’t be just Tanner, so it will be tri-captains of Toben, Dayne and Tanner.
Vernon: The three seniors, Dayne Crist, Toben Opurum and Tanner Hawkinson were all named captains, and Hawkinson couldn’t of been more excited for his first term as a captain.
Hawkinson: It’s great, to think that your teammates vote for you as a captain of the team is definitely an honor. To know that they kind of look up to you and look at you as someone who gets the team going, gets them motivated, so yeah it’s a definite honor.
Vernon: Two time captain Toben Opurum said the team needs to focus on staying out of trouble.
Toben Opurum: First and foremost we’ve had a lot of off the field issues that have been happening, guys getting dismissed from the team and that’s one of the things that needs to be immediately addressed.
Vernon: Senior quarterback Dayne Crist, whose only spent one spring with the Jayhawks, said that being named a captain was just a title and that it wouldn’t change him as a player.
Dayne Crist: I’m goign to work every day the same way that I had been prior to being named a captain and it’s great hearing those things, but at the same time, we’ve got work to do.
Vernon: This has been Mike Vernon signing of for Journalism 415.
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When Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger moved into his new house in Lawrence with his family last June, he put most of his belongings in their garage. To this day, he still hasn’t touched them.
There has been no time for Zenger to organize. From the very beginning, Zenger’s new job at Kansas required his full attention and that hasn’t changed.
“My wife tells me it was hard,” Zenger said. “I kind of got lost in it.”
Zenger was lost in his first year on the nonstop job at Kansas. He came to Kansas having to clean up the leftovers from a ticket scandal within the athletic department, handle a conference realignment situation that had Kansas fans sweating, fire and hire a football coach, and finally ride along as the women’s and men’s basketball teams had surprising NCAA Tournament runs.
“Your first year, an athletic director’s job is always busy, and you kind of sellout your family and everybody else,” Zenger said. “There are certain things you anticipate you’re going to be doing, but there’s no way I could’ve anticipated two or three of things that came our direction.”
On January 3, 2011, Zenger was officially introduced as Kansas’ athletic director. Zenger came at a time when the ticket scandal was something he didn’t have to deal with much. In fact, the scandal is something Zenger doesn’t talk about, even with his own employees in the Athletics Department.
However conference realignment directly affected Zenger. As the Big 12 began to teeter, Zenger moved to the basement in his house. He didn’t want to bother his family and he had to have his iPhone, iPad and blackberry charged, or charging at all times. His first phone call would come in around 6:30 a.m., and they wouldn’t stop until around midnight every day.
“I never thought the Big 12 was going to go away,” Zenger said. “In my heart of hearts I believed that the Big 12 would stand, and it did.”
Once conference realignment came to its conclusion, football season did the same. And once again, the workload never stopped for Zenger. On November 27, 2011, Zenger fired football coach Turner Gill. Three days later, Zenger took to the air, as he flew across the country for two weeks, looking to find the next football coach for Kansas.
“I did sleep from two to six every night and that was literally it,” Zenger said. “When you’re in that moment, you’re willing to sacrifice whatever. That’s what you get paid to do.”
While Zenger’s life appeared to be a huge blur in his first months at Kansas, the athletic director won’t look at it that way. He frequently says he’s not a victim, and what he did was just part of the job. But during that coaching search, Zenger did more than the usual parts of the job.
When he returned to Kansas on December 11, 2011, Zenger had Charlie Weis by his side as Kansas’ new football coach. And while Weis, the former coach at Notre Dame, has a resume that looks impressive, Zenger did not give the coach any breaks as he looked for the program’s perfect fit.
“It was a grueling, grueling day,” Weis said of the interview process as he was introduced as Kansas’ coach.
Soon after Weis got settled in, conference play began for basketball. Both times Kansas played Missouri, Zenger and company had to answer questions about if Kansas would ever play Missouri again. The answer, for the time being, is no, a decision Zenger said was made at his desk.
And then came the Sweet Sixteen run for the women’s basketball team, and the Final Four run for the men’s basketball team. Zenger said the experience was a shot of confidence in the arm of Kansas Athletics.
Kansas coach Bill Self had high praise for Zenger, as Self complemented him at the Basketball Awards Ceremony on Monday night.
“We’re on a serious uptick in our Athletic Department,” Self said. “And Sheahon and his staff deserve a lot of credit.”
Zenger, the man in charge of Kansas Athletics, started his career off on the high dive, dealing with experiences and pressures that he had never faced before.
“You just had to jump in and swim,” Zenger said. “And hopefully in the right direction.”
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Mind of Mike 