Look at this picture and think about what you see.
It’s probably the euphoric roar of barely shirted KU senior Mike Koszewski in the immediate aftermath of his walk-off RBI in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night in Arlington, Texas.
Now, look again.
Once you get past Koszewski and the extreme and in-the-moment joy that dominates the right side of the photograph, I want you to take a look at the left side.
That, my friends, is why this Kansas baseball team is special.
Any one of those guys on the left would’ve loved to be in Koszewski’s place, as the hero of a postseason baseball game for a program that hasn’t played a whole heck of a lot of them.
But instead of seeing that, you see genuine happiness on the faces of the nine Jayhawks in the frame on the left side.
Sure, they’re glad they won. But it’s how they won and who won it for them that seems to mean the most. Look at recruiting coordinator Jon Coyne (No. 27) for goodness sake. You don’t often see many fathers look at the accomplishments of their own sons or daughters with the same pride and emotion that you see on Coyne’s face.
And while Coyne fills a mentor-type role in Koszewski’s life, that kind of admiration and appreciation for the player and the moment is also present on the faces of his peers. In their eyes, in their smiles and, of course, in their outbursts of emotion.
The only people in the entire photo who are immune to it are the Big 12 Conference staff member holding up the bracket and the Kansas Athletics videographer whose face is blocked out by the camera.
I’ve spent the past year wanting to write about KU coach Dan Fitzgerald’s comment about the importance of being an unbelievable teammate within his program.
I thought there was a check list. I thought there might’ve even been discussions and perhaps even a quiz.
And then I saw this photo and realized that this image explains it perfectly.
Against all odds, and with relatively limited time spent around one another to make it happen, the Jayhawks became of a band of brothers, willing to put the good of their teammates and the team ahead of their own needs and desires.
KU (43-15) bowed out of the Big 12 tournament in the semifinals with a tough loss to TCU on Friday night. This season has shown that the Horned Frogs are a tough matchup for Fitzgerald’s team.
But they’ll flush the loss and get ready for whatever NCAA Regional they’re put into. Not because they have to or because that’s just what comes next.
But because each guy on this roster, coaches included, will want to do it for the man next to him.
What a team.
What a photo.
What a season.
What’s next?
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
