Shocker Nation was stunned and saddened to learn of the May 29 death of WSU student Abduljaleel Alarbash in Saudi Arabia:
“A Saudi student studying at Wichita State University was killed in his homeland Friday after he helped stop a suicide bomber from entering a Shiite mosque in Dammam.”
— Jessica Chasmar of the Washington Times in the June 2 article “Wichita State student dies trying to stop suicide bomber in Saudi Arabia,” about Abduljaleel Alarbash, a 22-year-old electrical engineering major and honor roll student who had traveled back to Saudi Arabia to get married. The blast also killed his brother, their cousin and a fourth person. All four were hailed as heroes, and some 500,000 people attended their funeral in Damman. Wichita State held a candlelight memorial service for Albarbash on Friday, June 5.
Shockers everywhere, at events long ago or happenings just the other day, always have something interesting to say. Take this sampling as a Shock Talk example:
“You should have seen his face!”
— Bonnie Bing Honeyman '70/76 to Courtney M. Marshall, WSUAA president and CEO, about showing her Women United for the Shockers Bracket Chatter trophy to her husband, Dick Honeyman '61. She won the trophy for completing the most correct 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament brackets. The trophy, clearly engraved with Bonnie's name, brought a look of disbelief to Dick's face when he saw it because, she says with a laugh, he was the Honeyman who filled out the brackets. His secret? “I just listened to what Mike Kennedy said and put that down,” he reports. Turn to Page 10 to read more about the March 16 Bracket Chatter event.
Our Shocker basketball team, with coach Gregg Marshall at the helm, has most definitely not jumped the shark.
A group of talented, athletic young men, they are sure
to continue to delight Shocker fans everywhere for years to come.
Thanks to their recent success — including four straight trips to the NCAA tournament — these Shockers are recognizable from coast to coast.
And they can now count Henry Winkler, also known as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, as one of their newest West Coast fans.
As it happens, Winkler's son, Max is a good friend of Hollywood screenwriter Theodore Bressman. And Bressman, who's the grandson of longtime WSU supporter Joan Beren '83, is an avid Shocker sports fan. “My grandson comes from New York and lives in California, but he just loves the Shockers,” says Beren.
Indeed, Bressman, who attended Harvard, has been bleeding yellow and black since he was a kid. Beren says he spent many a summer day in Wichita, and enjoyed attending Shocker basketball camps. During this year's NCAA tournament, Bressman was invited to the Winkler home to watch the Shockers play. After witnessing Wichita State's victory over the Indiana Hoosiers, the “Happy Days” actor invited Bressman back to his home for the showdown with the Kansas Jayhawks.
The Shockers did not disappoint Winkler, nor any other members of Shocker Nation. And, as Bressman told ESPN.com after the game, Winkler “became a believer today.” To show his support, Winkler donned a Wichita State hat and posed for the photo above.
While Shocker Nation happily welcomes new fans, and gives Fonzie a resounding “Aaaaay,” we do have a bit of friendly advice: If you're gonna climb aboard the Shocker Bandwagon, ya gotta learn the right sign. It's a “Shocker W” — with thumbs up!
