The Madness of March is in full swing, and we’re excited to see how far the Jayhawks go in the Big 12 Championship this week and the NCAA Tournament starting next week.
To publicly show our affection for our beloved team, we gathered some of our staff members, along with some of the crew from Sandbar Subs across the street, and filmed a little commercial, now airing on local Channel 6.
You all know we don’t mind getting a little cheesy now and then (okay, most of the time). We had a good time on a Friday afternoon, and believe it or not, we only had to do a couple takes to get a good video.
Today's the day: the KU men's basketball team takes on Ohio State in the Final Four, the second time the teams will meet this year.
KU won the first round, and you might remember it was sort of a special event at the Sandbar. We hosted a live radio broadcast from the bar with Ryan Lencl and his show, the Angle of Pursuit. We're hoping KU can beat the Buckeyes for a second time!
The City of Lawrence and the Lawrence Police Department have been busy making plans for Saturday night in the event KU wins. Last Sunday, crowds of people flooded downtown Lawrence after the Jayhawks beat North Carolina, and if KU advances to the championship game tonight, the crowds downtown will be even bigger.
Something important to note: don't bring your car downtown.
If KU wins tonight, the city will close Massachusetts Street to traffic from 6th to 13th streets, and the side streets that cross Mass will also be closed. That means if you park downtown for the game, don't expect to leave anytime soon if KU is victorious.
You can read more about what the police department has to say about their plans here.
We'll be open at 1 p.m., our usual time, and we'll be ready and excited for the game!
The KU men's basketball team won a huge game last Sunday, beating North Carolina to win a spot in the 2012 Final Four.
Downtown Lawrence was crazy after the game! Traffic started backing up on Massachusetts Street as far back as 14th Street right after the game, and probably backed up even farther as the day got later. People packed downtown and the crowds got bigger all night.
Some of the bar band members put on an impromptu show at 8th and Massachusetts, and the Kennedy Glass float from the St. Patrick's Day Parade, a replica of Allen Fieldhouse, made an appearance too.
The city of Lawrence prepared well for this event, and the crowds were well-behaved even among the mayhem. Dave was surprised that so many people came downtown after this game, but the bar was prepared for it. He jokingly posted on his Facebook page that he was opening late on Monday because he didn't have anything left to sell- not entirely true, he didn't run out of beer completely, but it was definitely a great Sunday night.
Channel 6 News even interviewed Dave about the alcohol supply. You can read the article here.
Here's to hoping we have another fun weekend downtown!
A few years ago, we had a Sandbar bracket challenge on Facebook. It was a lot of fun, and we gave away some Sandbar shirts to the winners.
This year we're doing it again, but it's a little bit different. It's not on Facebook- we didn't want to use an application, plus not everyone is on Facebook (yes, it's true!) so this way, everyone can participate.
Inspired by our Twitter and real-life friend Justin, we created a Sandbar group on espn.com.
Go here to join our group. It's a private group called Sandbar (I wasn't feeling very original), and the password is hurricane. You can join or leave the group only before the second round begins. If you don't already have an account on espn.com, you'll need to create one.
Winner gets a T-shirt and a gift certificate! And you can talk smack, too! Think you can beat Dave?
Today is a big day for Jayhawk fans everywhere. The KU men's basketball team travels to that town in our neighboring state to the east to take on their most hated rival. That alone always makes it a big game, but this year has even more significance, since that school has chosen to leave our conference and this might be the last year we ever play them.
There's a lot of hatred between these two teams. YouTube videos have been exchanged (just Google "We are KU," it's entertaining) and insults have been hurled across the internet.
A lot of the animosity between fans of each school is fueled by history: residents of both states were fighting all the way back in the Civil War era. Several of us actually took a history tour last summer to learn more about Quantrill's Raid, when the city of Lawrence was burned.
We love a good sports rivalry, but we also hope that Jayhawk fans can stay classy tonight, wherever you're watching the game.
Last Saturday, the KU basketball team had a big game against Ohio State. We were fortunate to have a unique event take place at the bar because of this game- a live radio broadcast!
Ryan from The Angle of Pursuit radio show on 970 WFUN contacted us about broadcasting his pre-game show from the Sandbar. Sure, we said; we're always up for something different.
Ryan and his buddy came in on Friday night and got to experience the Bar Band. They were back on Saturday for their pre-game show, and he even interviewed Dave on the air. We'll try to track down a recording of the show, if it exists, so you can hear it. They left for the game and came back afterward, raving about the amazing atmosphere in Allen Fieldhouse, for a post-game show.
Of course, we all know how fantastic Lawrence, Allen Fieldhouse and the Sandbar are, but it's nice to hear what new visitors think. Here's what Ryan had to say:
I'd like to take a moment to sincerely thank EVERYONE we encountered on our trip to Lawrence. First: Dave, Debbi, Peach, Heather, Blair, and The Sandbar staff, you were the best hosts we could have hoped for. Second: The people of Lawrence. We didn't encounter a single person who wasn't a great fan of basketball and a better representative of KU and Kansas as a whole. And Finally: To Roger McCoy, Dave Hatfield, Cody Slaybaugh, Kim Frustere, Robert Bloomer, Dana Schulte, and Curtis Colby for making the trip possible. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
