The Ballad Of Sad Jayhawk

Before he was Sad Jayhawk, Matt Rissien was just another superfan: going to away games, wearing a costume, posing with luminaries like Erin Andrews and Scot Pollard. But, thanks to the vagaries of the universe and an alert cameraman, he's become more: a symbol of fallen hubris. A Crying Duke Kid or Weepy Tebow for a new generation.

"I guess karma does sometimes work out," said Rissien, minutes after he arrived in Lawrence from an all-night drive back from San Antonio in a family friend's rented van. He knows no one is going to pity him, as a senior who's already seen his team win it all in 2008. But there's an admirable passion in any visibly upset fan - the kind of person you're glad got the tickets instead of a corporate fellow who just doesn't care. Rissien reeled off the places he's seen Kansas play: Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska.

But, let's talk about the head. No one is talking about this today without the Jayhawk head.

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EARLIER: Your VCU/Kansas Commemorative Keepsake Poster The Weeping Kansas Jayhawk, In Happier Times