BonnerSprings.com

Photo by Chris Wristen

Wendy Ross, a Kansas fan and the office manager at TCI Roofing, wore a KU hat and sweatshirt to work on Friday to balance out her boss' support of the University of North Carolina. KU and UNC will play in the Final Four on Saturday.

Wendy Ross couldn't help but smile Monday night as bedlam erupted on Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence after the University of Kansas basketball team won the NCAA men's championship.

Ross was watching from the comfort of her living room, but the scene on television made her feel like a freshman again. It was the same chaotic revelry she's been a part of 20 years earlier when KU won its last national title.

"In 1988 we had a party at somebody's apartment, and at that time we went up onto campus when they won," she said. "We didn't go to Mass. Street. Campus was where the party was at.

"It was standing room only. All the buildings were shut down for the night, of course. There were people in trees, people up on light poles, people were on shoulders. It was just one big mass of screaming people. It was like Mardi Gras, but with no nudity."

Now a married mother of two, Ross is the office manager for TCI Roofing in downtown Bonner Springs.

Ross, her husband and oldest child watched together as Kansas rallied to beat Memphis in overtime, 75-68. It was a much more tame atmosphere than in 1988, and Ross admitted that part of her longed to celebrate with the students again.

"I was wishing that I was up on campus, or on Mass. Street, for sure," she said.

Although Ross' post-game celebration was a bit more subdued this year, she spent the entire week of the Final Four in eager anticipation. Her boss, TCI Roofing owner Eric Thomas, is a native of North Carolina and a die-hard Tar Heels fan. Kansas trampled North Carolina in the semifinals, 84-66, but some friendly ribbing took place all week prior to the game.

Thomas hung North Carolina banners from the upstairs windows of his business, 200 Oak St., and he even placed a bet with a fellow downtown business owner and Kansas fan, Bryan Albers of ABLE Inc. The bet required the man whose team lost to donate $500 to the Bonner Springs YMCA.

Thomas said he was happy to pay up on the bet, and he also will hang a "Congrats Jayhawks" banner from his building.

"I was telling my wife that I'm the only one who would've had any fun if North Carolina won," Thomas said. "But with Kansas winning, it's just great to see how infectious that is all across the state. It's just super. There were people last night who weren't even basketball fans who were just enthralled with that game."

Like her fellow KU classmates, Ross waited 20 long years to see Kansas win another national championship. Ross said she is thrilled to see the Jayhawks back atop the college basketball world, and she said she doesn't think she'll have to wait 20 more years for another championship.

"I hope not," she said. "I think this was a push or a shove in right direction. I think it gave (KU coach) Bill Self confidence in his team and what they can do, and I expect a lot more Final Four victories in the next couple years."