Octagon of Doom

Behind the scenes at the Octagon of Doom: It sounds like a horror movie, but for die-hard K-State fans, it was more a romance (We do LOVE our Wildcats!)

The Octagon of Doom, for the uninitiated, is what fans are calling Bramlage Coliseum these days. (The coliseum is roughly shaped like an octagon.) Our K-State men's basketball team is at the No. 7 spot this week on the Associated Press poll. The 20-4 record is K-State's best in almost 50 years.

So it pays to know people. And in this case, PEOPLE is our son, Brent. He is a student intern for K-State Sports Information. I'll never forget the excited phone call when they gave him a key to the building. For a guy who has always been a BIG fan of K-State sports, the excitement quickly surpassed the nerves of being responsible for an actual key to Bramlage.

On Saturday, we were in town for the game vs. Colorado. But before Bramlage was packed to the rafters with purple-clad fans, Brent gave us a behind-the-scenes tour.

We got to see The Legends room, where we could look out on the Bill Snyder Family Stadium.


We walked onto the floor and stood on the Power Cat.


We also got to see his office ("It's just an office, Mom," he says. "Yes, but it's an office in Bramlage where you get to write ... pretty cool, even if it's just an office." By the way, after men's basketball games, check out the game wrap-up online at www.k-statesports.com. Brent writes those features. He's also the lead contact for K-State Equestrian Team, so he writes all the features about that team. Those are also online.)


We saw close up where Brent sits during basketball games. Besides watching the action on televised ballgames, we are always looking for Brent in the background. Our favorite "Brent sighting" was during ESPN's College Game Day before the KSU-KU game. ESPN commentator Digger Phelps got hit in the head with the basketball. We rewound the DVR several times watching the open-mouthed reactions from Brent and another intern as the ball bounces off Digger's head.

He thinks it's pretty cool that he's right on the floor of Bramlage watching the game, writing, keeping stats, or working with television stations ... and especially avoiding the long line of students waiting to get into the games (He spent time in that line prior to getting this job, so he's well acquainted with the wait!)

I love photos and my refrigerator is a billboard for plenty of family snapshots. The one with Brent at the ESPN College Game Day anchor desk is a new favorite.


The 68-51 victory over the Buffaloes was just icing on the cake.