Manhattan ? Josh Buhl knows the difference between playing football and going to war two terms that, before Sept. 11, used to be interchangeable.

He does the former, as a linebacker at Kansas State. His brothers, Jason and Joseph, and an aunt do the latter.

“My brother’s overseas now fighting the war, and my little brother’s going into the Air Force,” Buhl said. “Then I have an aunt who’s over in Italy in the military.

“If I ever got called to fight, I would,” Buhl said. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m an American.”

Last year, Buhl and his teammates were thinking about nothing more weighty than a nonconference game with Louisiana Tech when the terrorists struck.

The Big 12 Conference, of which Kansas and Kansas State are members, postponed all games involving its teams the following weekend. Eventually, all NCAA Division I-A games were called off.

“It meant something to the kids,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “You could see it had a tremendous impact.”

With large sports stadiums considered possible terrorist targets, players and coaches could have been forgiven a few Saturday jitters once play resumed. But it was important to go on, Buhl said.

“I never wanted to live in fear,” he said. “I wanted (the terrorists) to know that we’re still Americans.”

For the most part, sporting events in Kansas went on as scheduled after the attacks albeit with an increased emphasis on charity, patriotism and security.

All of the small-college and high school football teams competed that weekend, with many games also featuring fund-raisers for relief efforts in New York and Washington.

“I think the approach was that we needed to move on and needed to continue,” said Ralph McFillen, commissioner of the Overland Park-based Mid-America Intercollegiate Activities Assn. “That’s what we did. We weren’t let this going to deter us.”

The inaugural Protection One 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., was the second Winston Cup event after the attacks.

Security was high then, and remains so today.

“They even look under my golf cart and I’m a full-time employee, so no one is exempt from safety measures,” said Sammie Lukaskiewicz, the speedway’s public relations manager. “We had always been pretty cognizant of security measures, but Sept. 11 helped refocus our efforts.”