Stadium Bucket List: Wichita State Shockers
My day job has taken me to some interesting places the last couple of years. Some of those places are cities I probably wouldn’t have considered for a leisure trip anytime soon. That’s due mostly to prioritizing other places I haven’t been, like my 2 day jaunt in Australia. Wichita was one of those places. I already touched on the aviation history and awesome donuts hanging out there. The big treat I hadn’t gotten around to summarizing was a last-minute visit to see the Wichita State Shockers play a home game.
If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’ll know that I have a bucket list item to see all the professional sports stadiums in the US at some point (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL). You’ll find my full list at the bottom of this post. These side trips have brought me to some great college towns. As I was watching Wichita State beat up on Dayton in the NCAA tournament this week, I realized I had never written about how I ended up at a Shockers game I didn’t even know was scheduled.
I met a guy named Jake Ramstack in Wichita and started talking Shocker ball with him. If you’re not a sports fan, Wichita State has had an incredible run the last few years. They’ve established themselves as a big time program without the pedigree or recruiting advantage big schools do. I told Jake I was disappointed that the Shockers weren’t playing while I was in town. Jake, “Uh, they play tonight.” For real? I misread the schedule. Before I could think about buying tickets, Jake made a pair appear. How lucky was that?
The stadium has all the trappings of an old-time tin can college basketball arena even after the updates paid for by the generous contributions of the local billionaire. At the start of every game, the fans stand until the visiting team scores. Against some lesser teams, that can leave the fans standing for a while.
I had good seats, though there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. The stadium seats about 10,000 in one round concourse. The sight lines are great and the fans are rocking.
The Shockers Are For Real
Wichita State already upset their first opponent in the NCAA tournament. It wasn’t much of an upset, really, since they were seeded way too low to start. Given how passionate their players and fans are, you’d do best to mind one of the best slogans in college basketball.
Fear the Wheat!
I sure am thankful to Jake Ramstack and the crew at Clutch Studios for getting me in to such a great place to watch college basketball.
Here’s a full list of stadiums I’ve visited over the years with links to those that I’ve written posts about:
Sports fans, what does your list look like?
MLB:
- Yankee Stadium (One Final Night of Magic)
- Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles)
- PacBell Park (San Francisco Giants)
- Safeco Field (Seattle Mariners)
- Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks)
- Shea Stadium (New York Mets)
- Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)
- Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)
- Coors Field (Colorado Rockies)
- Nationals Park (Washington Nationals)
- Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Turner Field (Atlanta Braves)
- Chavez Ravine, Dodgers Stadium (Los Angeles Dodgers)
- Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)**The Red Sox will always be listed last any time I refer to baseball teams
NFL:
- Giants Stadium (Giants and Jets)
- FedEx Field (Washington Redskins)
- Qwest Field (Seattle Seahawks)
- M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore Ravens)
- Soldier Field (Chicago Bears)
- Candlestick Park (San Francisco 49ers)
NBA:
- Air Canada Centre (Toronto Raptors)
- Pepsi Center (Denver Nuggets)
- Madison Square Garden (New York Knicks)
- Brendan Byrne/Continental Airlines Arena (New Jersey Nets)
- Verizon/MCI Center (Washington Wizards)
- United Center (Chicago Bulls)
NHL:
- Pepsi Center (Colorado Avalanche)
- Madison Square Garden (New York Rangers)
- Verizon/MCI Center (Washington Capitals)
- HP Pavilion (San Jose Sharks)
College Basketball:
- Charles Koch Arena (Wichita State Shockers)
College Football:
The post Stadium Bucket List: Wichita State Shockers was published first on Pizza in Motion
You have only been to one college football stadium. Egad, fix that this fall!
Charles, I went to culinary school. And, college football is my least favorite of the sports. But, I’ll probably get to another game this fall if my travels take me there.
being a DC local, you need to get to a game at Xfinity Center for some Terrapins basketball. I would be happy to accompany you there. I love the Terps… even after their quick exit this year.
On another note, Pittsburgh is just a 3-4 hour drive away and their ballpark is beautiful. Their food scene is amazing although I did not try any of their doughnuts. I want to say that it was built by the same architects as Camden Yards.
Jung, I was at the old stadium (Cole Field House?) a million years ago. Need to add that to my list. Not sure I have any desire to go to another Maryland game since they bolted for the ACC. 😉
Thanks to an old rivalry with my alma mater, I gag whenever I hear “Wichita” and have nightmares at the sight of their mascot. Nonetheless, I’m told Koch Arena is a great place to watch a game. If you ever get the chance, CenturyLink Center in Omaha is a good place to watch a college basketball game. Usually a great crowd.