It started with Lisa’s tiger. I tried to ignore it, but then he had his picture taken in our studio. That was the last straw.
It was early in the Big 12 season. Our afternoon anchor and assistant News Director Lisa Carter was filling in for Ellen on the morning after Missouri knocked off Kansas on a last second shot in Columbia. She walked in that morning decked out in black and gold, carrying a huge stuffed tiger. Being the proud Jayhawk that I am, I was already taking the loss pretty hard. But as they say, lose gracefully, so I laughed as Lisa paraded the tiger around the newsroom.
A few weeks later, it was Kansas’ turn. Allen Fieldhouse was on fire as the Jayhawks crushed the Tigers in convincing fashion. I was pumped.
The next day, with Lisa back on her regular shift, I brought in my son’s giant stuffed Jayhawk and waited. When Lisa arrived, Jay was sitting at her desk. To top it off, he’d taken a photo wearing her studio headphones. That photo now existed on her computer desktop. I thought I had the last laugh. I was wrong.
Yesterday marked embarassment for Jayhawk fans as our guys went out in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament, losing to a Baylor team that was 5-11 in conference. Missouri, of course, won.
So here I sit, early on Friday morning, watching and waiting. Will she bring back the tiger? Will he eat my headphones? Only time will tell.