To the editor:

If people don’t stop whining about the celebratory basketball parade, we might not get one the next time we win a national championship. If you’re mad because you didn’t see the Spirit Squad and pep band, you should have watched the parade downtown, as the Journal-World clearly stated the band and squad would peel off at Central.

If you’re annoyed because people filled the street, blocking your view, don’t complain that you got there first. You obviously didn’t attend the parade in 1988 or pay attention when looking at parade photos. Otherwise you’d have known the streets would be packed and the sidewalks would be empty.

And don’t complain because this parade didn’t meet your expectations of a “parade.” So what if the crowds at annual parades in southeast Kansas – or in Lawrence, such as our yearly St. Patrick’s Day and Old-Fashioned Christmas parades – stay on the sidewalks and don’t block the streets? So what if those parades last longer than two minutes? Those are traditional parades where one expects such things – plus candy!

The basketball parade, on the other hand, was a jubilant celebration of a national championship – not a long-planned annual event – with the players and coaches being “paraded” down the middle of the street so we could share our love and enthusiasm with them and let them know we appreciate what they accomplished. I want more of these parades!! So stop whining. This parade wasn’t about you or your flawed expectations.

Kendall Simmons,

Lawrence