K-Stated

The Sporting News put together a list of this season’s best non-BCS bowl games yesterday, and the Cotton Bowl came in at No. 1.

No surprise there. It is a top 10 game between 10-2 Arkansas and 10-2 Kansas State in a beautiful, new stadium. What’s not to like? Outside of the BCS title game and the Fiesta Bowl, you could make an argument for it being the third best postseason game out there. Even if you like the Rose Bowl better, the Cotton Bowl definitely looks to be more entertaining than the Orange and Sugar Bowls.

Here is how The Sporting News summed up the game:

“The Wildcats don’t have Arkansas’ talent, but can the Hogs match K-State’s will to win? Bill Snyder plus Bobby Petrino equals two premier coaches.”

I’ve got one more reason why the Cotton Bowl looks like a can’t-miss game: It’s a battle between the Big 12 and the SEC — the two most respected football conferences of 2011.

Or, as a wise e-mailer named David wrote when he suggested I blog about this topic:

“It is the only Big12-SEC matchup of the Bowl Season! The entire conference (Big 12) was fighting for survival what feels like just a few months ago, and with our two most recent turncoats (Texas A&M and Missouri) going to the SEC, this game seems like the only ‘statement’ opportunity to let the SEC know there is another conference in the nation on their level.”

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You know those old, sappy TV commercials where a disembodied voice asks a question like “are you down on your luck?” You know how in those old, sappy TV commercials some slob is always at his couch eager to say “YES!” And you know how in those old, sappy TV commercials the slob fixes all his problems by purchasing the advertised product?

Well, if the only thing keeping you from the Cotton Bowl next month is a lack of money, you might as well be in one of those old, sappy TV commercials as you read this blog.

Because the K-State Federal Credit Union has the answer to all your problems. It is currently offering a low-rate loan to anyone who needs some extra cash to get to the Cotton Bowl.

Angie Reed, a marketing manager at K-State Federal Credit Union, told me today her company is handing out loans up to $5,000 with 2.99 percent interest rates. To qualify for the loan, you need to be a member of the credit union (to be a member Reed says you need to live, work, study or worship in the counties of Riley, Geary and Pottawatomie) and have good enough credit to qualify for the loan.

No loan amount is too small. If all you need is $250 for some gas and a ticket, you can get $250.

“We’re such a tightly knitted group,” Reed said. “We love the university and the Cats. We’re so excited they’re going to the Cotton Bowl, and we want to make sure everyone who wants to go to see them in the bowl game can do so.”
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Here’s guessing the Kansas State football fans who don’t already have tickets to the Cotton Bowl wish today’s ticket prices matched the one listed on this old Cotton Bowl ticket. Just $7.50!

Today’s prices (especially on the secondary market) are much, much higher. The face value of tickets to next month’s Cotton Bowl range from $125-$220 depending on the seat. But with K-State, Arkansas and the Cotton Bowl completely selling out their ticket allotments a few minutes after the matchup was announced, affordable tickets have been hard to come by.

A quick search of three popular ticket re-sale websites reveals you’re out of luck if you are looking to spend less than $200 for a ticket.

The cheapest ticket listed on StubHub is $220. Though that’s nothing compared to the most expensive ticket listed. Check this out: one of the Hall of Fame suits at Cowboys Stadium is going for $56,846. Must be one heck of a suite.

Over at the Cotton Bowl’s official ticket exchange, the cheapest ticket is going for $209. And you can’t find anything for less than $245 over at TicketCity.
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The most commonly used nickname for Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein will likely always be Honey Badger.

It’s the nickname his teammates gave him early on this season, and the YouTube videos that have popularized the weasel-like creature as “the most fearless animal in the world” fits with Klein’s personality. Much like how the Honey Badger wreaks havoc on whatever prey it encounters (even cobras in a tree), Collin Klein, as the narrator says, “Don’t care … he just takes what he wants.”

But we suddenly have a new contender in the nickname department: Optimus Klein.

The nickname, which plays off the beloved fictional leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, popped up earlier this week on twitter and has gained a bit of momentum from fans since. A reader suggested yesterday Optimus Klein would look good on a T-shirt, and a fan sent in a humorous Optimus Klein question to ESPN’s Big 12 Mailbag as well. So it’s out there.
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Arkansas and Kansas State have been on opposite ends of the conference realignment shuffle.

Over the past two years, Arkansas fans have kicked back and laughed as schools across the country scrambled to find the best possible place for their athletic departments. When the Big 12 reportedly reached out to the Razorbacks a few months ago and asked if they had any interest in leaving the SEC, the answer was a simple “Thanks, but no thanks.”

K-State fans, meanwhile, have sweated out the departures of four teams from the Big 12. First Nebraska and Colorado. Then Texas A&M and Missouri. Everything seems to be stable in Big 12 country now that the conference has added West Virginia and TCU. Texas and Oklahoma have agreed to equal revenue sharing, and the league had a fabulous football season. But there were some tense times in there.

Why were their experiences so different? Arkansas decided to get in on conference realignment 20 years early.

In 1990, the SEC was looking for new teams. After shopping all over the region, it added the Razorbacks and South Carolina. The move allowed the SEC to play its first conference championship game in football.

Up to that point, Arkansas was a long-time member of the Southwest Conference. Read More »