What is the true story behind Kansas State's beloved Wabash Cannonball tradition?

The Wabash Cannonball is a beloved tradition at Kansas State. When the band begins to play the familiar tune, all Kansas State fans turn to each other to figure out which way to move first. Then once the beat picks up, fans begin moving back and forth to the rhythm of the beat, but no one is in sync with the fans yelling "Hey Hey Hey let's go State!" loud and proud!

This tradition was also voted the best pre-game tradition in the Big 12 by ESPN recently.

However, where does this beloved tradition come from? Well, the story is actually pretty interesting.

Back in 1968, there was a fire on K-State's campus, a fire that burned down the entire music building, otherwise known as Nichols Hall. When the building burnt down, all the music went with it except for one piece of music.

That is right, you guessed it, it was the Wabash Cannonball sheet music. The reason the piece survived was because a music instructor had taken the piece of sheet music home for the night without knowing it, and was about to start a tradition that would last for years.

After the fire, Kansas State had a basketball game three days later and no sheet music for the band to read while playing. With only the Wabash Cannonball left, they played that one piece of music all game long.

Now the sway forward and backward has a story in itself. There is a piece of the music where the clarinets do not play at all and would just be standing there in the band, so keep with the rhythm of the music and get the crowd excited, they began that swaying movement and it caught on throughout the crowd.

This beloved song is not just a fun tradition that fans take part in throughout the game, but the song itself represents survival, perseverance, and support, something that Kansas State embodies in its history.