Malcom and others, here's a writeup of the weekend of games and some stuff you might notice since you're watching it via your screens.
First, we learned that Lisa White has 10 tickets for the game in the reserved section. Usually it's friends and family who come along. But on days where she's by herself (her daughters aren't there) she sometimes goes out into the outfield bleachers and picks people at random and asks, "Hi, would you like to sit closer? I've got free ticket upgrade for you!"
The NCAA site, where I get all my official stats, still lists the stadium as seating 1,254. But this year we've mostly exceeded that because it doesn't account for the bleacher seating. Bleachers are now all GA and inside the stadium is 85% reserved seating that's been purchased for the season.
Additionally, you may not realize it, but the person who tallies the stats for UT has a wry sense of humor. They inject light jabs or jokes in the the "weather" report in the box score that gets transmitted up to the NCAA as well and has been part of the official record for years. I'll include this weekend's comments.
Friday
There are more KU fans here than you would think. As they are crushing the team, there is a lot of "Rock Chalk --- Jayhawk" back and forth. To my wife, who graduated from KSU, this is equivalent to fingernails across a blackboard.
Our seat mates, who have extra tickets, shows up with a friend and is quickly trying to see if some squatters are on his extra seats because he says that there is a football recruit and his dad who are joining us. What?
There is a kid and his dad from NY who are here on an unofficial visit for the Spring Game. He's 17 and 6'4" and 310lbs. They had a meeting with a coach, but it was postponed, so they decided to take in a softball game to kill time and purchased GA tickets. Also, his sister plays at college softball somewhere, so they are actual fans of the game.
Lisa White was heading to the GA section (you have to leave the stadium and enter from the berm area to get to the bleachers) when my friend spotted her and asked what she was doing there. When she said she was looking for people to upgrade, he said, "Well I have extra tickets". So she pointed at the father and son and pointed at my friend and said, "He's got tickets. Follow him". I don't think she realized he was a football recruit.
Anyway, that's about the only positive thing about Friday. They stayed until the 6th inning and maybe had to go meet the coach.
Weather: "Rachel jinxed us"
(I have no idea what that means)
Attendance: 1,496
Saturday
No Jayhawk chants at all. Scoring 9 in the first inning as everyone very relaxed and joking around.
In the first inning, at the first at-bat when Mia almost got hit by a pitch, Mike White at 3rd was joking with Mia. He swung his hips to the side as to tell her (jokingly), "You couldn't just take one for the team?"
Weather: "Allergy numbers are very high"
Attendance: 1,659
Sunday
The lack of any runs in the first few innings is starting to make everyone a bit nervous. And when Kansas finally scores 2 at the top of the 4th, the Rock-Chalk chants start.
You may not know this about Mia, but she gets a strike call that she disagrees with she pouts at the plate. Often she makes a face at the ump and almost always uses her foot to scratch away at the box lines (which are almost all gone anyway). And she makes these odd motions with her body. Anyway, the ump didn't like being showed up like that after a call and that's where she got a warning. Singleton talked to her, but Mike did not. So, you can see her start behaving at the plate from that point forward.
Crowd is still nervous that the pitcher Hamilton has got our number. But, the changeup that befuddled everyone Friday was not there. They were all high pitches. And, you can tell she's getting a bit tired.
We get tied up and in the subsequent innings we're all shocked to see Lisa White leading the "Texas - Fight" chants from her seats! It's usually two guys who start the chants on their own.
Anyway, good guys win.
Weather: "Skies are as blue as KU's unis"
Attendance: 1,491
Added: Mia is a very dramatic runner. When she gets on a base, she (immaturely) dances around like she's daring them to throw at the base while she's off of it. And when she slides into a base, she gets dramatic. With the winning slide into the base today, she laid there for a few seconds like she twisted her ankle. But then got off, dusted herself off near the dugout slowly and then remembered she had to get into the handshake line.