Having a strong home field advantage can turn the tide of a college football game. It can help turn a good team into a great one on any given night.
In order for the Kansas Jayhawks to have the best chance at having a great season, they will need KU fans to show up on game days this fall.
Fan support is more crucial now than ever before in college athletics – particularly in the Name, Image and Likeness space – but showing up to games is as equally important, and it’s one of the most important things Kansas fans can do this season to help the Jayhawks be successful.
The challenge for KU football this upcoming season is obvious: They don’t have a home stadium to play in. David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is currently being rebuilt as part of the ongoing Gateway District project.
Instead, the Jayhawks will be playing their games at Children’s Mercy Park (home of the Sporting KC soccer club) and Arrowhead Stadium (home of the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs).
That means KU students and fans will need to travel to Kansas City to cheer on the team in person this year, and it’s critical that they do so.
This has a chance to be one of the more special seasons in recent memory. The roster is loaded with returning talent, featuring 30 seniors and a bevy of highly touted freshmen.
They have one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 in Jalon Daniels, one of the top running backs in the country in Devin Neal, a trio of wide receivers in Luke Grimm, Quentin Skinner, and Lawrence Arnold that can compete with anyone, and one of the best defensive backfields in college football in Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson.
The Jayhawks also have a very friendly schedule that should give them an opportunity to reach double-digit wins for the first time since 2008.
If that happens, KU could be looking at their first Big 12 Championship appearance and a shot at making the College Football Playoffs now that it has expanded to 12 teams this upcoming postseason.
That is what is on the line this upcoming season, and that is why is important for KU fans to show up and make sure the team maintains a homefield advantage despite playing away from Lawrence.
And frankly, the staff and players have earned this.
This is not the same program that it was before Lance Leipold arrived. The team is better, the facilities are better, and there are real expectations of this program moving forward.
After the progress they’ve shown the past few seasons, this team and coaching stuff deserve nothing but the fullest support from Kansas fans this fall.
Having fans show up consistently on game days is also going to help take this program to the next step. If KU fans believe this team should be mentioned among some of college football’s best this year, then as a fanbase we need to show up like we’re one of college football’s best.
The KU administration has done their part in making sure students can attend thanks to their recently announced student bus program. Now, it’s up to the remaining fans and alumni to do their part.
If KU fans show up in force this fall, that will only help the team reach their fullest potential and make this a season to remember.