Veteran UK fan says if you get a chance to go to Allen Fieldhouse, make the trip

Ashland native Keri Scaggs, who now lives in Alaska, loved UK winning at Kansas but also enjoyed the atmosphere. (Keri Scaggs Photo)

Long-time Kentucky fan Keri Scaggs, an Ashland native now living in Alaska, shares her experience at Allen Fieldhouse in Kansas on Saturday.

Most NCAA Tournament appearances. Most NCAA Tournament wins.  Second most championship titles, and of course, most wins in the nation. It gets real easy to think that the basketball world revolves around Kentucky, and for good reason. But after being in Lawrence, Kansas for last Saturday’s game, I’ve got to give a hearty salute to the Jayhawks.

A lifelong friend and I’ve been talking for years about all the games we’d love to attend, and when I saw we were playing at Allen Fieldhouse in January, I began to bug him. If not now, when?? I kept an eye on tickets, secured a cheap flight from Alaska, and used points to book the hotel. Once tickets showed a steady price we pulled the trigger, and the adventure was on.

A couple weeks after making our plans, ESPN announced College GameDay would be there and we decided to make the most of our first time in Lawrence. With it being right on campus, we had no idea as to how hard it would be to get around, find parking, the whole nine yards – and it could not have been easier. We quickly parked and made it inside in probably 10 minutes.

When you walk into Allen Fieldhouse, there is history everywhere you turn. It has such a small town, old school feel to it – even though it holds over 16,000. From the minute you walk in the door it’s black and white photos and the original Phog banner on the walls and a campus store.

As we walked up the steps to find a place to sit it was akin to being in a time machine — like I was back at Boyd County High School (except for the security and film crews and monitors and …).  Parts of the lower level have individual wooden seats, while the rest are bleachers. There’s not a bad spot in the house, as we found out at tip-off.

After GameDay, we had time to kill in a town we’d never visited. We decided to drive around their beautiful campus, find the football stadium, hunt for bourbon (successfully), and grab a bite. We’d made plans to reconnect with a pal from Ashland, Sean McDowell. (If that name sounds familiar, while he’s now at Fox 4 in Kansas City, he spent time at WLEX, WOWK, and WSAZ.) We grew up together at church but hadn’t seen each other in person in 30+ years.

Thanks to social media, it was as if we’d never missed a beat. We found a restaurant and settled in for some incredible Mexican food. We endured good-natured ribbing from the Kansas fans while we watched hoops, drank margaritas, and caught up until it was time to head back to campus.

Thanks to Sean we were able to secure parking a couple of blocks out, and as we walked toward Allen the excitement was in the air. For some reason, my phone didn’t want to download the tickets, and of course, the gentleman at the door had all the time in the world to help us figure it out. (These people are for-real nice, not Minnesota nice.)

The excitement we’d felt outside paled in comparison as we winnowed our way through the history-laden hallways and stairs to our seats. The concession stands we passed along the way were, well, stands – selling popcorn, hotdogs, and sodas. We settled into our seats and began to chat with the Jayhawks around us. Save for one (“I’ve been to Rupp. It isn’t that great.”), it was convivial.

Their hype video consisted of a clip when Rupp Arena set the record for the loudest crowd, which was against Kansas in 2017. The Jumbotron had a decibel recorder, and the noise began. Even though I honestly don’t know that they went above the 126.4 from a few years back, because you’re crammed in so closely together the energy felt (and sounded) like a plane was about to take off. (Of course they did the weird “Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk” incantation that sounds like they’re about to summon the basketball version of Beelzebub and yeah. It’s just as unsettling in person as you’d expect.)

From the moment KJ Adams was hit in the face by his own scoreboard to Oscar getting the tip, it wasn’t Kansas’ day — and I was there for every beautiful and glorious minute. I sat in the rafters of Rupp and watched us lose to them in ’17, and I was thrilled to stand and cheer with the tiny corner of Allen we occupied, Section 13. I chose it just because it was on the side of the visitor’s bench, and if you saw any clips of “GO BIG BLUE” ringing loudly, that was us. Is there anything better than being able to do that in an opposing arena?? Nope, there is not.

Listen … I’ve seen us lose in the chicken bucket, Lucas Oil, Jerry World. I’ve seen us win two unbelievable NCAA games IN Lucas Oil, which I thought would never be topped. I was wrong. This was daydreams are made of, and the next morning we were still shaking our heads in disbelief.

What it comes down to is that this is the tie that binds us. It binds us in many ways to Kansas: neck and neck for most wins, Cal’s first job, Rupp playing for Phog. It ties me to my uncle, who tells of gathering around the radio to listen to games as a kid. It ties me to the friend with whom I share tickets. It ties me to my late sister and the bittersweet joy of taking her son to his first tournament game. It brought me back in touch with a pal and his family.

You could feel it at Allen. They get it, and they are tied to their hoops just as deeply. It was almost like watching the game with family. (A family wearing the wrong colors and cheering for the wrong team.)

These people love basketball. Most stayed until the end, cheering loudly. They were kind, courteous — even congratulatory. I’ve never seen such hospitality and camaraderie on display, and if you ever get the chance to go to this one-of-a-kind venue, do it. You will not regret it.

— Guest post by Keri Scaggs