Fans watch the Marching Jayhawks perform at the KU pep rally at the Adidas flagship store in London on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.

WESTMINSTER, England — Amid a crimson-and-blue crowd that sang along with the Rock Chalk chant and clapped to the beat of “I’m a Jayhawk” were some local onlookers who had little idea what was going on.

Andy Lobban had made the trip on the tube from 25 miles outside of Central London for his son’s birthday and entirely by coincidence stumbled upon the Union Jack Classic festivities that had created an agglomeration of Kansas fans at the Adidas flagship store on Oxford Street on Friday afternoon.

Given that his son is a young golf prospect, he had been starting to develop some familiarity with the American university system. The concept of a college football game taking place at Wembley Stadium, however, might have been somewhat more foreign, as it was for the several other Londoners who approached anyone wearing a lanyard to try to figure out what was going on. (Lobban was very familiar with Gary Woodland, though!)

It all made for an interesting cross-cultural enclave within one of the West End’s most famous thoroughfares, one where KU and Arizona State merchandise, ahead of Saturday’s clash between the two teams at Wembley Stadium, became the center of attention as displays for the likes of Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Real Madrid languished on the periphery of the store.

Josh Pressgrove, a KU fan already in London while working on a music tour, was lucky enough to have the day off on Friday, and he charmed onlookers by bearing a giant Union Jack featuring his favorite Jayhawk logo, the skinny-legged 1912 bird, a design created (he admitted sheepishly) with the aid of ChatGPT.

“I’m glad they like it, man,” he said.

As they milled around the four-level store, a stone’s throw from the Bond Street tube station, KU fans could have their faces painted with Jayhawk logos, test their mettle in a throwing challenge or have their photos taken on a miniature football field with a Union Jack Classic backdrop. And of course buy Adidas merchandise, lots of Adidas merchandise.

Athletic director Travis Goff stopped by, as did deputy AD Jason Booker, director of football relations and former KU great Darrell Stuckey, basketball commentator and athletic department fundraiser Greg Gurley and plenty of others.

Then there were the cheerleaders, Rock Chalk Dancers, Marching Jayhawks, band members and mascots — and their hangers-on. Jeff Polesky, who made the trip from Fort Myers, Florida, said he had been a KU fan just “as long as I’ve known the mascot, but I can’t say any more about that.” (Mascots are known for their code of secrecy.)

Polesky was impressed by the fan turnout some 4,400 miles from Lawrence: “I didn’t realize everyone in London was from Kansas,” he said.

“I’m actually from Nebraska, so we got to play in Ireland,” he added, referencing the Aer Lingus Classic. “I didn’t go to that. This is great. First time in Wembley — I’ve never seen Wembley. My mother was British. I haven’t actually been to England since 52 years ago.”

The pep rally at the Adidas store was one of a suite of pregame events in the lead-up to kickoff on Saturday at 11 a.m. Central (5 p.m. in London), including a party Friday night at the Leake Street Tunnels and a tailgate ahead of the game.

Kansas athletic director Travis Goff arrives at the KU pep rally at the Adidas flagship store in London on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.

A young fan has a Jayhawk logo painted on her face at the KU pep rally at the Adidas flagship store in London on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.

Kansas fan Josh Pressgrove poses with his 1912 Jayhawk Union Jack at the KU pep rally at the Adidas flagship store in London on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.

Kansas and Arizona State Union Jack Classic merchandise is displayed at the KU pep rally at the Adidas flagship store in London on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.

Kansas Union Jack Classic merchandise is displayed at the KU pep rally at the Adidas flagship store in London on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.

The Marching Jayhawks perform at the KU pep rally at the Adidas flagship store in London on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.