Monday, December 04, 2006

Un-Legendary



A couple of weeks ago I was at The Legends outdoor mall in KCK.

I was meeting some family/friends there for my kid's fourth birthday dinner, and I was early. So I had a chance to walk around and explore the shiny new outdoor shopping mall a little.

This is when I discovered that The Legends is actually a theme for the mall. That, in addition to being a cathedral to consumerism, it's also meant to honor "legendary" Kansans from different branches of human achievement.

So every 10 yards or so, there's a medallion in the pavement honoring William Allen White for his writing, or Russell Stover for his candy making, or Charlie Parker for his excellent saxamaphone playing.

As I walked the pathways, reading each of the plaques, I felt a growing sense of populist pride welling up in my bosom (and I didn't even know I had a bosom). It was a nice feeling, seeing all of these Kansas heroes gathered in one place, some I hadn't heard of and some I didn't realize were Kansans (like Walter P. Chrysler).

Then I meandered down the walk of Kansas sporting legends. The obvious entries were there: James Naismith, Wilt Chamberlain, Gale Sayers... but there was something missing. Something glaringly missing. Something that cried out at the prairie sky in it's missingness, "Why have you left me out!"

There was no mention of legendary football coach Bill Snyder, the man who built a Kansas State University football program from the depths of non-existence to the heights of national glory.

And I realized that The Legends at Village West is a sham. Omitting Snyder from a list of Kansas sports legends is like omitting Jimmy Hendrix from the list of greatest guitar players.

But, rather than just writing off The Legends at Village West as mere crass commercial catering to eastern Douglass County doofuses, I have decided to start a grass-roots effort to get this unforgivable omission un-omitted.

I am copying this post to Rod Yates on The Legends management team and I encourage all readers and all responsible Kansans to join the campaign.

Together, we can make a difference.

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8 comments:

  1. Dan12/4/06, 3:21 PM

    I'd be happy to help. Just remind me, which year did he win the national championship?

    Also, didn't he "build the KSU football program from the depths of non-existence" to, umm, two consecutive losing seasons before he finally gave it up?

    Just wonderin' . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. FletcherDodge12/4/06, 4:38 PM

    Dan,

    Thanks. I knew we could count on you. You have a point about two consecutive losing seasons. But Snyder still has a better coaching record (136-68-1) than "legend" James Naismith, who retired with a losing record (55-60).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous12/4/06, 7:28 PM

    I can't even imagine a "cause" that I could care less about.

    Kansas College Sports is like the Trifecta at the very whale-poop bottom of things that least inspire me.

    So I guess that means you're on your own. Can't help ya. Sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dan12/4/06, 7:57 PM

    Actually, I was just trying to push your buttons. If you like Snyder, he's okay with me, too. I went to a division 3 school, where the athletes had to go to regular classes. The whole big-time college sport thing evades me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. FletcherDodge12/4/06, 8:50 PM

    "I can't even imagine a "cause" that I could care less about."

    And yet you took time to comment. Thank you for your support.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12/4/06, 10:05 PM

    My pleasure dood!

    Anytime!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous12/8/06, 3:51 PM

    Now that I know they have ignored Snyder, I can continue to go there. Snyder has no place with any legends of Kansas. Seriously...

    ReplyDelete
  8. FletcherDodge12/8/06, 5:32 PM

    Like I said, NCTRNL, he was a better coach than James Naismith.

    ReplyDelete

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