Crowds that gathered on Campanile Hill for football games have ebbed.
Carey Berger recalls the glory days of watching Kansas University football games from the slope of Campanile Hill.
"I'd watch games from there even when I had tickets. It was more fun on the Hill. You had about as good a view as anywhere," Berger, KU class of '85, said.
"There was no alcohol ban then, so you could bring your beer and your hibachi. It was a lot of fun. I vividly remember the sight of all those hibachis with the smoke coming up, people walking around with their beers, tossing a football or a Frisbee with friends," he said.
How things change.
"At this point, I can't imagine anyone going to the Hill (to watch games)," said Berger, head of Business Succession Resources in Lawrence.
The '90s have been tough on the tradition of going to the Hill on autumn Saturdays to partake of pilsner and pigskin.
The smattering of folks hanging out on the hillside during football games these days is nothing compared to the often-suds-soaked masses that used to throng to the area.
In November 1991, KU began cracking down on the consumption of alcohol on campus by enforcing city and university codes already in effect and plugging some loopholes in the law that had existed.
Officials took the measure, they said, to cut down on excessive drinking and drunken behavior on campus -- particularly on the Hill -- during and after athletic events.
Also in the '90s, metal bleachers that had been put up and taken down over a period of 20 years in the south end zone -- partially obstructing the view from the Hill -- were put there again to stay.
Will MegaVision -- the new 24-foot by 32-foot video screen looming over the south end zone -- spell the end of this dying Jayhawk tradition?
'Enhance the game'
That's not how Darren Cook sees it.
"I never saw being on the Hill as 'watching the game,'" said Cook, KU's athletic facilities director.
"You went to Campanile Hill because it was a game day; it was a good place to be, a beautiful setting. You could have a picnic. I don't think it had anything to do with the view of the stadium.
"It was a part of just saying, 'I'm going to the Hill and be part of the atmosphere.'"
Keeping the view from the Hill clear for spectators wasn't a top concern while planning for MegaVision, Doug Vance, KU's assistant athletics director, said.
"We didn't set out to create an obstruction for people on the Hill. We wanted to enhance the game for fans inside Memorial stadium.
"That's where the action is, that's where the game is, and that's where we want Kansas fans to be," he said.
As far as the metal bleachers in the south end zone blocking the view, Vance added, they're actually smaller than they used to be.
After last football season, they were reduced from 20 rows high to 10 and narrowed down -- to open the sightlines inside the stadium for MegaVision.
Beer and hibachis
Like Berger, Kelly Jo Karnes -- KU's assistant director for Greek programs -- recalled good times on the Hill. She was a freshman in 1992.
"It was a really fun atmosphere, more of a social gathering. You'd go to the Hill with a bunch of friends and pack a picnic and watch the game. It made you feel a part of the university," she said.
"You could sit with your dog and watch the game. If you had a large family and you didn't want to buy a lot of tickets, you could watch from the Hill."
The ban on alcohol -- and the KU football team's up-and-down fortunes in recent years -- have probably done the most to cut down on Hill crowds, Karnes speculated.
If any Jayhawk fans are thinking about the Campanile itself as a prime vantage point for football games, forget it.
Yes, there is a window on the structure's north side, about 60 feet up, that affords a view of the stadium.
It was installed in 1996, so Albert Gerken, university carillonneur, could see KU graduation processions and know when to stop playing.
"But I never watch (games) from there, and I don't know anyone who does. You'd have to have binoculars to see anything," Gerken said.
Even if you wanted to see the action from that perch, he added, "It's not open to the public."
For Berger, the tradition of watching games from the Hill came to an end when rules against alcohol on campus were refined and enforced.
"I stopped going when they eliminated the beer," he said simply.
Step by step in the '90s, the crowds that used to gather there have moved on. But that's OK with Berger.
"I'm nostalgic for the blast I had on the Hill, but at the same time, I recognize that to bring this program to the next level, things have to change (such as the introduction of MegaVision).
"I'm not gonna complain. In the end, it's good for everybody," he said.
-- Jim Baker's phone message number is 832-7173; his e-mail address is jbaker@ljworld.com.
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