SOFT: Kansas State's Band Will No Longer Play 'Wabash Cannonball' If Fans Keep Chanting 'Fuck Kansas' During The Song
[Source] - The Wabash Cannonball has been a tradition at Kansas State sporting events for many years. That tradition could be lost if changes aren’t made soon.
Kansas State marching band members tell 27 News that Band Director Dr. Frank Tracz informed their squad they will soon cease to play the legendary song at sporting events if Kansas State students don’t change their behavior.
“The first time we hear ‘The Chant’ from now on at a football game we will no longer play Wabash during that game until the students decide to mature and realize they’re ruining the best game day tradition in the country,” one K-State band member said.
Here's the song:
Here's the backstory of the importance:
[Source] - Though it seems like a timeless Wildcat tradition, “The Wabash Cannonball’s” popularity came over a century after the university was founded. The Wabash rose from the ashes, so to speak, on Friday, Dec. 13, 1968, when Nichols Hall caught fire and burned.
It is often said that “The Wabash Cannonball” was the only surviving piece of sheet music from the Nichols Hall fire.
Got it all? Okay, let's move onto my thoughts here. It's soft. College kids screaming about how much they hate their rivals is the true tradition. Telling Kansas State students they can't chant fuck Kansas? Good luck. You tried that before:
Kansas State's students basically live to chant fuck Kansas. I get that you worry about families, but it's college sports. It's what kids do. I don't know how else to explain it. Are you really going to throw away a tradition because of it? I mean families walk around tailgates and the Internet and everything else. There's gotta be a different way to go about it than just threatening to stop it.
Plus we're talking about football here. They chant it during basketball when they barely beat Kansas. Now you're taking away the sport they kick their ass in? That just feels mean. Rude even. Let LSU play Neck. Let Kansas State fans chant. It's college.