The Scene — Kansas wins, bracket busts
April 8th, 2008, 12:25 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Al Balderas, staff writer
HERMOSA BEACH — Costa Mesa resident Rochelle Taylor (left) found herself in a tough spot Monday night.
She grew up in Kansas, so it was natural for her to root for the Jayhawks in the NCAA championship game against Memphis.
But Taylor didn’t think the Jayhawks would win the tournament when she filled out her bracket. After years of watching Kansas underachieve, she expected the Jayhawks to blow it in their semifinal game against North Carolina.
So she picked Memphis to win the tournament and was one missed Mario Chalmers 3-pointer away from collecting $332. At the same time, her heart was with Kansas.
Taylor watched Monday night’s game at Club 702, a watering hole in Hermosa Beach that opens its doors to Kansas University fans whenever the Jayhawks are playing. Taylor was one of almost 100 Jayhawks fans packed in the small bar, cheering every Kansas basket and acting disinterested when Memphis did well.
The second half was a tough one for her.
“Hello, bank account,” she said after the Tigers opened up a 60-53 lead late in the second half. “I’m a little sad, though.”
When the Jayhawks sent the game into overtime and started to pull away, the sadness was gone. She was jumping up and down with everyone else in the bar, waving her crimson and blue pom-pons while screaming Kansas on to its first championship since 1988.
The chant known by Jayhawks fans worldwide — “Rock Chalk Jayhawk K-U” — picked up in intensity when 18.2 seconds remained in the men’s college basketball season. Kansas was comfortably ahead by that point.
Because of Kansas’ 75-68 overtime victory, Taylor didn’t win the $332. Her postgame activities consisted of phone calls to her grandfather, mother, and a text message to her sister. They still live in Kansas.
When the night’s events began to sink in, Taylor put it all together.
“I didn’t get my money, but that’s OK,” she said. “This is better.”
– Al Balderas, The Orange County Register
