You might have seen last Saturday’s tweet from ESPN’s Max Olson that noted that KU punter Damon Greaves’ parents had made the trip from Australia to Kansas City to see their son play with the Jayhawks.
Good times. Fun little reunion. How cool. Right?
For sure, as long as they weren’t interested in seeing him actually play.
As Olson pointed out, the Jayhawks were so good that day that the Greaves family did not actually get to see their son do what he came to KU to do.
In warm-ups, yeah. But not in the actual game, with real stakes and real pressure.
Kansas punter Damon Greaves’ family made the trip from Australia to Kansas City for the Colorado game.
— Max Olson (@max_olson) November 24, 2024
They didn’t get to see any punts today. https://t.co/uyCijUQEPp
It marked the first KU conference game in Big 12 history in which the Jayhawks did not punt and was the fourth such game since Leipold arrived four years ago, after achieving the feat just twice in the 25 years before he got here.
So far this season, Greaves has hit 31 punts in 9 games — he was used 32 times in 12 games last season — for an average of 42.8 yards per punt, with 2 touchbacks, 6 downed inside the 20, 9 fair catches and 6 boots of 50 yards or more.
It’s unclear how good of an understanding Greaves’ family has of American football, but you can bet he made sure to point out to them that not seeing him punt was a good thing for his team.
Here’s the even better news: They’ll get another shot to watch him this weekend in Waco, Texas.
Because the trip from Australia to Kansas is already far enough, the Greaves family timed it to be able to spend not only some quality time with Damon over the Thanksgiving break but also to see him play not one but two games.
The Jayhawks (5-6 overall, 4-4 Big 12) will play their biggest game of the season against Baylor at 11 a.m. Saturday, where the stakes could not be much higher.
Win, and Greaves and KU become bowl eligible, extending their season for another month and putting a
Lose, and it’s the end of the line for the 2024 Jayhawks.
Punts or no punts, that’s some pretty high theater and serious drama for Mr. and Mrs. Greaves to take in before they head back to their far-away home.
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