Author Topic: The San Jose Mercury loves... Manhattan? (Read 568 times)

Racquetball_Ninja · October 09, 2006, 04:19:28 PM

Pretty cool article.

Home of K-State rallies around the Wildcats

By Allen Holder

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

MANHATTAN, Kan. - It was almost as if a purple haze had descended upon downtown Manhattan.

Little girls were waving purple pompons. A middle-aged couple wore matching Hawaiian shirts with purple flowers. Toddlers held on tightly to strings attached to purple balloons.

There were purple T-shirts and purple tennis shoes, purple socks and purple bags filled with popcorn. Purple Powercat caps and purple Wildcat football jerseys, purple socks and purple tank tops. The Business and Professional Women's group was selling purple cotton candy, for crying out loud.

Officially the two-night celebration as August melted into September was billed as the Purple Power Play on Poyntz (try saying that three times in a hurry). But, really, it was a purple party.

Students were back on campus at Kansas State University. After a long, hot summer, the weather had turned cooler. And finally, nine months after the last fans left the Bill Snyder Family Stadium at the end of last season, football was back in Manhattan. The Wildcat nation was ready to celebrate, hoping for another winning season under its new coach, Ron Prince.

"I think K-State football unites the community in a way nothing else does," said Dan Walter, a Manhattan native and textbook manager at Varney's bookstore in Aggieville, the student commercial neighborhood adjacent to campus.

"Manhattan, like many communities, has polarization on many issues - education, religion, the kind of town we want to be. But we all agree on K-State football."

That much seemed obvious on a Thursday evening as thousands of fans - families, senior citizens, middle- and high-school students and more than a few K-State students ready for fun - meandered up and down Poyntz Avenue, the main business thoroughfare downtown.

In front of the Riley County Courthouse, children lined up to see a huge, inflated King Kong and - whee! - slide down the attached slide. At a church-sponsored attraction, a woman in a red-stocking cap and University of Kansas shirt was an easy target - Dunk a Jayhawk!

And when the K-State mascot, Willie the Wildcat, emerged from the Manhattan Town Center mall and began walking through the crowd, it was as if royalty had arrived. At least until the football team and coaches showed up.

"For many people, football is what draws them together," said Walter, author of Aggieville 1889-1989: 100 Years of the Aggieville Tradition (1989). "They'll tailgate together. It's a family reunion for many people."

Not everybody in Manhattan is a fan, to be sure, but even they can find reason to celebrate football season. On game days "they can find a parking space at Wal-Mart to do their shopping," Walter said.

There are plenty of other things to cheer in Manhattan - a beautiful campus filled with picturesque limestone buildings, a celebrated art museum, a quaint community zoo, some fine restaurants and a strong arts community.

Football just happens to be the biggest game in town.

"It really is a fun time," Walter said. "It's more fun when we win, of course."

A few years ago the Wildcats sat atop the national rankings but lost the Big 12 championship. That, Walter thinks, put some perspective on the game for many fans.

"I don't think it's an obsession anymore. I think it's something people choose to enjoy."

So Manhattan knows there's more to life than football. Besides, Ron Prince isn't the only new coach in town.

Basketball, anyone?

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IF YOU GO:

GETTING THERE: Manhattan is about 120 miles from Kansas City. Head west on Interstate 70, then north at Exit 313 on Kansas 177.

TO LEARN MORE: Contact the Manhattan Convention & Visitors Bureau at www.manhattancvb.org or (800) 759-0134.

Contact Kansas State University at (785) 532-6011 or www.k-state.edu/visitors

Dan Rydell · October 09, 2006, 04:20:36 PM

Yes, that red x is definitely cool.

michigancat · October 09, 2006, 04:26:14 PM

Quote

There are plenty of other things to cheer in Manhattan - a beautiful campus filled with picturesque limestone buildings, a celebrated art museum, a quaint community zoo, some fine restaurants and a strong arts community.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/15715111.htm