March 29, 2022

IT HAPPENED

In the second half of the Elite 8 game against Miami, KU found its ideal form. The timing could not have been better. That… was… awesome.

Whether it was on breakaway run-outs by Christian Braun, or by taking busted plays and creating great looks through extra passing and what I assume is love for their fellow man, KU’s attack snapped into place. This is the team we were promised! Trailing at half—therefore pitching 99% of KU fans into a familiar doomsday spiral, a friend at the KU bar yelled out “THIS IS VCU” after Miami made an early three—they outscored Miami by 30 after the intermission. KU stormed out of the gate, and within 20 minutes of real time the game was out of reach.

What more can I say? It was the most inspiring and timely KU performance in years, during a game we usually screw up, and the reward is the first Final Four since 2018. There’s so much to feel good about! Rock MF Chalk!

KU opens up as 4.5-point favorite, and Villanova is down one of their most important players, Justin Moore, who tore his Achilles with 30 seconds left to go in their Elite 8 game against Houston. This not Nova’s greatest team, and my gut tells me they should be feeling good about a Final Four, no matter what happens next. So… will KU be able to get through Nova and leap into title game? Is a showdown with Duke imminent, where KU will have the entire internet behind them?

Three blue bloods, one newblood in New Orleans this weekend. It’s going to be bedlam. If you’re going to be there, give me a shout via email (just reply directly to this email) or in the comments and we’ll sort some kind of impromptu Streak Talk hang.

I like it and I will not be thinking about it further

Loved this recreation of Tom Brady and Gronk’s famous “Bad Boy for Life” clip—love an absolutely jagged Dave Navarro riff, always, and the trophy MAKES IT—but let’s just not think about what the original clip was celebrating. Don’t think about it! I implore you not to think about it!

Shocker: adidas going full adidas for the Final Four merch

A pet theory of mine: KU’s ill-timed extension with adidas was adidas’ way of saying “my bad” for the whole federal case, an agreement that the company actually doesn’t feel is worth the dough. It’s a lot of money—$14M annually!—which KU would have not been able to get on the open market, save for some left-field solution.1 They won’t cancel the contract themselves, because that would make them look even worse, but if the relationship just so happened to dissolve… they wouldn’t fight it! They’d be relieved, if anything.

I think all Streakers are in agreement that KU deserves a fresh take on the aesthetic, and that we shouldn’t repeatedly be playing second fiddle to Indiana in the adidas-verse. Our fanbase has a chip on their shoulder, generally speaking, but come on… Indiana? What year is this? WE ARE IN THE FINAL FOUR! Where’s Indiana?2 No offense!

I’m not even talking about Clippy above (what even IS that, by the way) and more about the adidas situation at large. It’s not good! Neither side seems happy about it! While this tournament’s quarter zips have been unimpeachable—come oonnnnn, this is ICE COLD—there’s no saving the relationship at this point. I’m not saying we need to hop to Jordan for 25 cents on the dollar ASAP, but I’m not not saying that.

We just made the Final Four, and we’re getting the most generic gear imaginable? Our student-run hoops socials are getting off better content than a global brand’s socials? Luckily the Homages of the world are giving us alternatives, and I expect Old Millennial AD Travis Goff will keep the licenses coming with nostalgia brands. I love nostalgia brands! Speaking of…

It’s a Major Award

On Monday, a Substack community manager let me know that Streak Talk was a “featured publication” and they sent over this lil .PNG badge. It’s good to know that Streakers are rocking with the top niche Jayhawks-ephemera-related newsletter in the Substack directory. Cheers to you, fine reader!

While I have you, I’d like to mention that, since I don’t have much of a social presence, word of mouth keeps this newsletter flowing so if anyone in your life is loving this Final Four run, I’d love for you to share this newsletter. Or consider giving a Streak Talk sub as a gift?

Give a gift subscription

I’m still donating all subscriptions and I’m bad at marketing. Let someone in your life know that the Streak is happening! ROCK CHALK!