To the editor:

Wow! What’s up with this? Four or five weeks ago I was channel surfing only to stumble onto Kansas playing K-State on TV. That’s an anomaly in itself because we usually don’t get anybody other than Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, etc. Then they announce Kansas is 5-0. My colleagues and my wife say “yeah, cuz they been beating up on Division II schools. The real season is yet to come.” Well they beat K-State, then they wallop Nebraska. They squeaked by Colorado and Texas A&M.

KU hasn’t had a football team like this since I graduated in ’68. Since then, I’ve had to wait until November every year to wear my KU ties – and to brag a little. Now, this Mangino guy isn’t the prototypical football coach, but he must be doin’ something right. He and his staff have 100 young men playing like a team and some of those players are even from Kansas and Kansas City. Getting the first-stringers to do this is one thing but getting the guys, the no-names to work that hard during practice to get the team ready every week is something else. It’s a huge task to get THIS ready week after week playing Big 12 competition.

I sure don’t know what he’s done, but I like saying I’m a Kansas Jayhawk – during football season! I’ve gotten to watch three games in four weeks. One was Nebraska and it was great seeing the stadium full.

Coach Mangino, assistants and players, enjoy your time in the sun and my deepest respect and admiration.

Whether this dream is real or not I’m a Kansas fan – DURING FOOTBALL SEASON!

Larry Marcum

Aztec, N.M.