Ping pong table helps tell Lawrence's bigger World Cup love story

LAWRENCE, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.

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The East Lawrence Recreation Center's once-ordinary ping pong table now sports the signatures of Algerian World Cup players.

Team Algeria set up its World Cup base camp in Lawrence, using Rock Chalk Park's practice facilities and lodging at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

RELATED | The unique love story between Lawrence and Algeria that formed during the World Cup

What started as a small favor asked by Team Algeria of its hosts became another chapter in the love story between the team and Lawrence.

Chris Morrison/KSHB

“They specifically requested it, so we thought that it might make it feel a little more homey for them," said Kahner Sampson, Lawrence's recreation facility operations programmer.

Heather Shull, general manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, said the team had a designated hangout area with a pool table and shuffleboard, but players wanted a ping pong table, too. So, she and her staff reached out to the city's parks and recreation team.

“They asked me if they thought that would be OK with the facility (recreation center)," Sampson said. "I said, 'I don’t really care if it would be OK, that it was going to Team Algeria.'"

Shull became so busy hosting the team and its staff that she moved in alongside them for the duration of their stay.

“They were just with us every day for 23 days, and you get to know people," she said.

She said the ping pong table became a hit with the team, something they played more than anything else — besides soccer, of course.

Chris Morrison/KSHB

“They really loved the ping pong and would play it whenever they had free time, or even right before they went to the Argentine match, they played it right before they got onto the bus," Shull said.

Before the team headed to their Round of 32 match against Switzerland in Canada, the team signed the ping pong table. It, along with the paddles the team used, is on display at the East Lawrence Recreation Center.

Chris Morrison/KSHB

“Now people are coming in to look at it and see a piece of history," said Annette Deghand, Lawrence's recreation operations manager.

Small gestures between the team and the town became a bigger story with an even greater meaning.

“The World Cup isn’t necessarily just about soccer. It’s about the whole world coming together," Sampson said.

Lawrence's park and recreation team says this story is part of history.

“When we’re all long gone, we want the whole community to remember everyone did support Team Algeria, and the ping pong table is just a sign of that," Deghand said.

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