Wondrous #13 -- and my fortuitous little purchase

Like all of you, I'm hyper-stoked about our boys in crimson and blue pulling off the incredible feat of 13 straight Big 12 championships.

It's a truly remarkable accomplishment, particularly when you factor in the fact that the cast of characters (players) changes every season, we take every team's absolute best shot every time we play, we've had to overcome injuries and adversities practically every year, and we've gotten it done in a contemporary power conference that has had very solid RPI ratings and many tough, capable teams in our way each season. (It is in that last aspect that I believe our accomplishment probably stands above UCLA's 13 straight crowns back in their era.) We've also shed good coaches during this time, watching as they benefit from KU's success to head to their own coaching gigs elsewhere.

The one constant, of course, is the Maestro, Coach Bill Self. 'Nuff said there -- I can't possibly add anything else to that fact, other than that it is truly exceptional that the streak is entirely on his watch. Unlike UCLA, there weren't other coaches involved in this, and I find it interesting that the only season that Self's KU team didn't win the Big 12 championship was his very first one -- which was the one where he had to inherit another coach's players, and players who were still very hurt and adoring of their prior coach. Self got all that he could out of that team, given the circumstances, but for all intents and purposes that year was an asterisk, and if you take it away as a weird aberration, he's won the league every single year the ball has been rolled out. AMAZING.

One final comment in this post. About a month ago, I was online (Facebook, maybe?), and a "tailored" ad popped up for a product that I simply couldn't resist. It was like it had truly been created by a seamstress somewhere just for me. It was a faded, old-school ball cap for KU with[/i] simply the letters KANSAS across the front, positioned around and on top of a big crimson 13.



As most on here know (and many no doubt agree), I believe that Wilt is THE greatest player to ever lay sneakers on a court. And while Danny is probably my all-time favorite KU player, Wilt is up there in the absolute pantheon, even though I wasn't around yet to watch his game live. He defines the elite nature of KU basketball, and I've always loved the number 13 as a result. My 12-year-old son has become quite the historian on all things Wilt, and he loves to inform his generation -- which hasn't a clue who the guy is, sadly, since they're fixated only on the here and now -- about Wilt's incredible exploits and stranglehold on NBA records. As a result, on every house and travel team for which he has played since first starting basketball, he's always worn #13 or #15 (tribute to Wilt and then Mario and JoJo, since he's a guard). Bottom line: 13 is a big deal in our household as a KU player number.

After buying the cap, I've worn it for many KU games this year, and it's gotten lots of favorable comments from others. More importantly, it's been very good luck. For instance, it was that cap that was on my head when I sat beside the esteemed HawkErrant in that crazy West Virginia comeback game at the Old Barn. (I will admit, though, that when we got down by 14 late, I went to the equivalent of a "rally cap" mode and turned the cap around so that the back was facing front.)



What I realized last night about this lucky cap (and fortuitous purchase) is that the emblazoned #13 isn't now just about Wilt -- even though that was obviously the intent behind the creation of the cap design in the first place. Now it can double as a THIRTEEN STRAIGHT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS cap that yours truly will wear even more proudly, and with a beaming smile, from this point forward.

Who the hell said 13 was unlucky, anyway?

Rock Chalk, Baby.

I know you do, Bay! (Always love your posts on the Big Dipper!)