The Underdog
Travelling from the bright lights and intensity of Los Angeles to the humble pace of Kansas is certainly one way to experience two sides of the same coin that is America. Exposure to that contrast in lifestyle is an effective way of realising just how diverse this great country is which has been a really interesting way to recognise the reality of why I’m over here in the first place.
To be more specific, I’m currently in Lawrence, Kansas. Home of the storied Kansas Jayhawks college basketball program. Lawrence itself could easily be described as ‘Anytown USA’ with its token array of diners, bars and gas stations, only this university town, in the eyes of many people is seen as the birthplace of basketball today as we know it. The town of Lawrence lives and breathes Kansas basketball. Everywhere you go, you’ll see memorabilia of the team and the unmistakable Jayhawk icon which has been around for over 125 years.
Kansas basketball is not exactly an underdog itself which is why I wanted to juxtapose the title with the photo of their national championship banners I took in the iconic Allen Fieldhouse. Titles are obviously the goal of the basketball program here but when you look beyond the action on court you start to see all of the characters who make it all happen. As lucky as we were to meet Coach Self and watch along as the team practiced, the things that provide the most perspective is talking to everyone behind the scenes who bring a small, yet important contribution to the picture as a whole.
From the students who camp out for a week in the entrance of the field house, to the owner of the bar down the street where every single game is broadcasted to a venue full of diehard fans you can feel the individual love for the team. These are all significant to the culture of basketball in Lawrence but none of this is possible without Glen, the man responsible for the maintenance of field house. His work is one that many people don’t see, he gets to work at 5am on game days and proceeds to prepare the entire arena for a match.
As I sit in the empty stands and watch Glen sweep and polish the court, clean the backboards and check the rim is at exactly 10 feet I can’t help but think of him as the true underdog. He doesn’t belong on the court when the field house is packed, his work is done when the only sounds you can hear are his own footsteps on the court and a gentle humming in the background. Glen loves his job and doesn’t exactly feel comfortable with the spotlight but it’s clear that he knows his value to this whole operation.
Looking at things through this lens has taught me to look at everything beyond the surface level. There are always people behind the curtain that you may not see unless you’re purposefully looking for them and the interesting thing that I’ve realised is a lot of these people are happy being exactly where they are. They don’t always throw their hands up looking for praise, in fact a lot of them will shrug off any attention because they’re comfortable standing in the shadows even when it’s evident that these people are just as important as the players on court when it comes to hoisting another iconic banner in the rafters.