We went shopping at a local grocery store and as we went thru the produce department I came upon a man wearing a KU hat. He stopped in front of me and said "Rock Chalk", as most of you in the area know, it's a KU chant. We immediately struck up a conversation about the upcoming game. Before leaving I handed him my business card, just in case he needed or knew someone who needed a car.
As we went through the store I had three more such encounters and handed out 3 more cards. I figured, what a great time for networking, as I've been doing for so many years and recently reinforced by Rip Walker, a Toyota instructor.
During the day we made a few more stops and this time it was I that stopped and spoke to anyone wearing KU logo attire. It was easy and it was fun. We shared smiles, stories and more than anything, it felt as if I was meeting old friends that I hadn't seen in years.
It's amazing, just wearing a team shirt introduced 10 new people to each other with each leaving with a smile on their face and some with my business card in their hand.
If I wasn't wearing the shirt and happened to smile at someone, I might leave with a bruised body. Wearing the school logo was like a shield against bigotry (unless it was someone wearing an MU shirt)or better yet a way to meet a new friend, a comrade in cheering for our team.
Maybe I'll get lucky and one of those people I met will come in and buy a car or give my card to a friend, we'll see. Anyway, it was a fun day spending it with my wife and talking to so many people.
KU won their first round and tonight they play Purdue, a tough team but hopefully they can play their best and beat the Boilermakers.
The March Madness consumes everyone that is a basketball fan. It's hard to turn on the TV during this time of year and not see a game. My condolences go out to my Missouri and K State friends. I hope everybody gets a chance to cheer for their team that might still be playing, except of course for North Carolina, Kentucky or Syracuse.
Rock Chalk!!!
