Kansas State Students Won't Stop Chanting "F--k KU' During Football Games And The Band Director Has Just About Had It
The Kansas State student section won't stop chanting "F--k KU" during The Wabash Cannonball during football games and the school is now threatening to take it all away.
Yep. Apparently, the college kids are being too mean to their in-state rival and the old man is shouting to get off his lawn!
"The first time we hear ‘The Chant’ from now on at a football game we will no longer play Wabash during that game until the students decide to mature and realize they’re ruining the best game day tradition in the country,” a K-State band member told KSNT.
Seriously?
You're gonna tell college kids - after a week of 8 a.m. classes and a day of (alleged) drinking - to "mature" or else? That's the hill we're choosing to die on here?
For those who don't know, here's the song.
What is The Wabash Cannonball at Kansas State?
Apparently, the tradition originated back in 1968 when Nichols Hall caught fire and burned down. Legend has it that “The Wabash Cannonball” was the only surviving piece of sheet music from the fire.
Long story short, it's now played at KSU games, the student section goes nuts, and we have yet another awesome college football gameday tradition.
Unless, of course, the bratty kids ruin it for everyone!
Here's the ... improvised ... version of the song from last weekend.
Kansas State marching band members told 27 News that Band Director Dr. Frank Tracz told them the song is going to end if the shenanigans continue, and he doesn’t want K-State to be known for disrespecting another school.
This isn't the first time the student section has gotten a little rowdy, either. Another song - Sandstorm - has also been played less and less over the years due to the same chant.
Electric, yet very NSFW.
Look, I kinda-sorta get it if we're talking about basketball games. That's a much smaller arena, it's closed, and you can clearly hear every single word. Certainly not great for the kiddos in attendance.
But this is a giant football stadium and it's one section. Hardly the same thing, if you ask me.
And by the way ... college kids are going to be college kids at the end of the day, folks. Trust me, they don't need a song played to get "the chant" going.
If they're in the mood, they're gonna do it. That's college 101 and it applies for EVERYTHING.
The KSU kids aren't exactly reinventing the wheel here, either.
Ever watched a Red Sox-Yankees game? Those chants literally break out every inning at Fenway Park. Frankly, they happen even when the Sox aren't playing the Yankees.
Anyone remember when Jose Altuve visited Yankee Stadium last year?
How about this gem from an LSU-Bama game a few years ago?
And then, of course, there were the mean Celtics fans at the Garden during the NBA Finals this past summer.
There were no songs being played during any of those, by the way.
You can take the song out of the chant, but you ain't taking the chant out of the stadium.
Probably best to just fire up the ol' Wabash Cannonball and let the chips fall where they may!