Sports
Keegan: Who is this mystery man?
Reesing gets a laugh out of not being recognized
Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing pulls back to fire as South Florida defensive end George Selvie lingers in the background during the first half Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
September 17, 2008
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Football team looks to recover from loss
It's been a long time since the Kansas football team has had to bounce back after a loss. They hope to win against Sam Houston State just eight days after their 37-34 loss to South Florida. Enlarge video
On the street
Has the KU football team’s recent loss shaken your faith in the team?
No, not at all. It was a close loss, and one loss isn’t going to kill a season. We’ll bounce back in time for conference play.
Sometimes, the life of Riley isn't all it's cracked up to be. Neither is the life of Reesing.
Robert Riley, a Journal-World reporter by day and a cage fighter/instructor by night, strolls Mass Street in the late afternoons, asking topical questions of strangers. He shoots pictures of them and runs their responses in the daily "On the Street" feature.
Todd Reesing, as most know by now, plays quarterback as nobody ever has for Kansas University. Reesing's performance in a 37-34 loss to South Florida on Friday night in Tampa sent longtime KU football fans scanning their memories for another time a quarterback led such an inspired comeback on the road.
Reesing and Riley had a chance meeting Monday afternoon, as in a one in 80,000 chance that they would meet at the absolute worst possible time.
Initially, Riley hit the streets with a question about the market collapse. Many hadn't heard about it, others didn't seem to care, a few didn't want to comment.
Riley called an audible one person too soon. He would have gotten an informed answer on the market collapse from the next guy, who regularly reads The Economist. Instead, Riley checked off to Plan B. Everybody has an opinion on football.
Little did Riley know that the college student waiting outside a store for his friends to finish shopping was Reesing.
Riley, who like any reporter knows if you're going to ask questions for a living you have to answer them too, recounted the exchange.
Riley: "Has the KU football team's recent loss shaken your faith in the team?"
Reesing: "I sure hope not."
Riley: "Why's that?"
Reesing: "I'm on the team."
Riley: "What position do you play?"
Reesing: "I'm the quarterback."
Riley had to be thinking, "Beam me up, Scotty. Now!"
Reesing answered the question. Riley asked him if he'd pose for a picture and Reesing told him we had plenty of photos of him on file back at the office, which of course we do. Sometimes we even publish a sports section without using one of those images.
Asked about the exchange Tuesday, Reesing was a good sport. His only regret was that his friends were still inside the store, finishing their purchase. He thought they would have enjoyed it.
"I thought it was more funny than anything," Reesing said, laughing at the memory. "I don't even know what to say. It was a funny thing though. I was trying not to laugh too hard. He was pretty cool about it."
Riley stopped Kerry Meier last year and asked him what book he was reading. (Into the Wild). He recognized Meier, who looks more the part of football player than Reesing, KU's Big Man On Campus nonetheless.
"It's nice to go places and be able to sneak around and not get noticed all the time," Reesing said.
It was tougher for Reesing to shake off the final throw of an otherwise spectacular performance.
"It was tough to get over," Reesing said. "It probably took me a whole 24 hours to really get it out of my mind. That's just how I am."
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17 September 2008
at 6:30 a.m.
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nobody1793 (Anonymous) says…
So what *Does* sparky think about the economy?
17 September 2008
at 10:55 a.m.
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can8iv66049 (Anonymous) says…
See, that is what they are talking about…..he is an economic major, forgive me if I am not getting correct, or something similar to that….he would have probably been a wealth of info on the topic of the stock market. He is one smart cookie, I read that he is running a 3.7 GPA right now and is disappointed in himself that it is not hire.
17 September 2008
at 10:55 a.m.
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can8iv66049 (Anonymous) says…
oh and ya, I would have recognized him in a heart beat!!!!
17 September 2008
at 11:06 a.m.
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jhawks1234 (Anonymous) says…
How do you live in Lawrence and not know who Todd Reesing is?
17 September 2008
at 1:30 p.m.
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Fatty_McButterpants (Anonymous) says…
can8: “hire”? I'm guessing you did not have a 3.7… ;-)
17 September 2008
at 1:47 p.m.
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BuffyloGal (Anonymous) says…
Hooked on phonics worked for me!
17 September 2008
at 2:08 p.m.
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tanaumaga (Anonymous) says…
i thought i saw him at a bar….then i thought, no, that can't be reesing…he's listed at 5'11'', this guys only 5'8''
17 September 2008
at 2:24 p.m.
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dancemomx2 (Anonymous) says…
I'm a life long Lawrence resident. I know the name, but would not recognize him in public. I find it hard to support KU right now, being they can't support a free community workout program and have kicked them out of the stadium. You would think with the way that everyone is talking about eating healthy and getting exercise that a large university would be behind such a program.
17 September 2008
at 2:27 p.m.
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can8iv66049 (Anonymous) says…
so sorry about the misspell….that made me LOL!!! and no, I did not have a 3.7 but I are a good reader!!!!
17 September 2008
at 2:42 p.m.
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KansasPerson (Anonymous) says…
Don't let it worry you, can8. Some of my best friends can't spell, even ones who read voraciously.
17 September 2008
at 2:48 p.m.
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jhawks1234 (Anonymous) says…
dancemomx2…Don't be so bitter towards KU…They were gracious enough to let them use the stadium anyways. Memorial stadium will more than likely be the host of dog days next summer unless I have missed something.
17 September 2008
at 2:50 p.m.
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Confrontation (Anonymous) says…
KU will do just fine without your support, dancemomx2. By the way, I heard that Jazzercise is looking for more dancing moms.
17 September 2008
at 3:27 p.m.
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dancemomx2 (Anonymous) says…
jhawks - actually we haven't been using the stadium since july. they don't know if they will be aloud to use it next summer. They haven't given the okay. i'm just trying to understand why they can't be behind this program.confrontation - do you ever have anything nice to say? I don't jazzercise, thank you :) maybe instead of being negative come out and give Dog Days a try. can't push a stroller at jazzercise!!!
17 September 2008
at 4:12 p.m.
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Danimal (Anonymous) says…
I've never thought that Sparky (“Todd the God,” whatever you want to call him) was 5'11” I've run into him a few times, he was one of my girlfriend's students in her biology lab a couple years ago, and there's no way we're the same height. Can't help but love him though, smart and the best QB in KU history.
17 September 2008
at 7:08 p.m.
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hometownhawk (Anonymous) says…
dancemom, the reason that they're not sure about next summer is that they're likely going to be resurfacing the field, which will obviously make it impossible to have Dog Days there. It's not like they're purposely excluding Dog Days, it's just an unfortunate side effect. And you cannot expect KU to avoid facility improvements during the summer months simply based on Dog Days.
17 September 2008
at 8:26 p.m.
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dancemomx2 (Anonymous) says…
I was told they had not made a decision. They are giving no reason why Dog Days can't be in there. At first it was b/c the athletics had to use it. The funny thing was is it was rarely in use when Dog Days was asked to leave. And I've only seen the band practicing in there one other time. I've only missed 3 or 4 times since I started in June. I'm not trying to be bitter and it's hard to state how I feel over the computer. I'm a life long Lawrence resident. I've grown up cheering for KU whether they win or lose. I just want to understand their reasoning. Red Dog has been using the facility for many years and then they are just asked to leave. He even has coaches from KU come and do pep talks. A lot of people just want to understand why.
18 September 2008
at 12:24 p.m.
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Confrontation (Anonymous) says…
Dog Days doesn't own the stadium. KU does. KU is able to plan the use of the field in any way they want. You have plenty of other locations to sweat and push a stroller.