Alumni clubs excited to host bowl watch parties
If you’re like us, you’re eagerly counting down the days until the Allstate Sugar
Bowl, when the ’Cats will take on Alabama.
If you’re not able to travel and watch the game in person, don’t worry — there are
a number of K-State alumni clubs around the country that will be hosting watch parties,
so you can enjoy the game with other K-Staters and hopefully cheer on our Wildcats
to another victory!
We checked in with several club volunteers to chat about their upcoming watch parties,
and you can view the complete list of clubs hosting watch parties for the big game
on our bowl webpage.
Bonnie Ser
Las Vegas K-State Alumni Club
What have been some of your favorite memories/experiences from hosting watch parties
this football season?
Although this year was challenging with so many games on ESPN+, we did manage to have
some great parties with our locals and with KSU alumni that were visiting Las Vegas.
The greatest part is when the visiting alumni discover that they have cities/families/friends
in common with our locals. The best watch party this year was when we played OU and
won. The whole restaurant was rooting for us!
Are you excited to get back with club members for one more watch party to celebrate
(fingers crossed!) another Wildcat win?
Absolutely! We do have several of our locals that will be in New Orleans for the event
but right now I have about 10 that will be cheering loudly from Vegas. I am hoping
that there will be some K-Staters from out of town that will join us.
Why would you encourage other K-State fans in your area to attend a watch party?
The camaraderie is the No. 1 reason. There is nothing better than showing how much
we love our university and to show local people who we are and where we are from.
Tyler Dehn ’09
Wichita Catbackers
What have been some of your favorite memories/experiences from hosting watch parties
this football season?
I have served on the local Wichita Catbackers leadership board for over 10 years now.
I have enjoyed helping with various events but my favorite has always been our football
game watch parties. Favorite memories of watch parties this season: I would say the
K-State vs. WVU game as it was a 1 p.m. start time and on ESPN+ so we had a larger
crowd that day! Also, this year we added a second location in west Wichita thanks
to a great group of volunteers that stepped up to form a committee and will be continuing
with men’s basketball watch parties at their location as well.
Are you excited to get back with club members for one more watch party to celebrate
(fingers crossed!) another Wildcat win?
Yes, we are very excited to host another football game watch party at both our locations
in Wichita and the Sugar Bowl makes it that much sweeter!
Why would you encourage other K-State fans in your area to attend a watch party?
Our watch parties are open to all K-State fans and we enjoy creating a real game day
atmosphere! Not to mention we have fun giving away prizes and for the Sugar Bowl will
be doing a fundraiser to help support the K-State Marching Band!
Jennifer Andersen ’96
Colorado Springs K-State Alumni Club
What have been some of your favorite memories/experiences from hosting watch parties
this football season?
Beating Oklahoma was a great memory. On two occasions this season, there were two
separate groups of patrons at the bar our watch parties are held at, that joined in
on our KSU cheer after each score. They really enjoyed the game traditions we bring
to the watch parties and loved how much fun it was even though they had no clue who
K-State was.
Are you excited to get back with club members for one more watch party to celebrate
(fingers crossed!) another Wildcat win?
We are excited to gather with club members again, but we also had no choice. Immediately
after our Big 12 Championship win they were stating, you are going to have a bowl
game watch party.
Why would you encourage other K-State fans in your area to attend a watch party?
We would encourage other K-State fans to attend the watch parties because we bring
the game atmosphere to Colorado Springs. After every first down someone shouts the
yards gained and "Good for a Wildcat" and the attendees shout "first down" along with
the first down arm motion. It does get changed to "Good for a Wildcat touchdown" when
we score. We play the K-State Fight Song after every score and then have someone doing
the Willie pushups and the KSU chant. We also play the KSU Alma Mater after every
win.
One of our members, who is moving, thanked us for having a little piece of his KSU
family here in the Springs and for making the games feel like home. That was the best
compliment you could ask for.
