It took 102 years, but Hattie Long finally made it to a KU basketball game. She’s a Jayhawks super fan, yet, she never thought she’d make the pilgrimage to “The Phog.”
“I just liked to see them play,” she said. “And by cracky, I knew every one of their names!”
But there’s one name she says repeatedly: Bill, referring of course to Hall of Fame Coach Bill Self.
Self and the team sent her an autographed photo two years ago for her 100th birthday, Long’s most prized possession, hung next to her family photos in her nursing home.
“Oh I felt like I was about 100 years old, then!” She joked.
Long has watched every KU game for the past 40 years on television with her grandson Dan Ravenscraft. Yet, she’s never seen her “boys,” as she calls them, in person.
“Watching the TV here, it looks like some of the players were just right there. I’d hollar ‘shoot, by cracky!”
