Just stop it with that. Seriously. Just stop. KU and MU should ABSOLUTELY keep playing each other, no matter what.
The Kansas City Star
Nobody should have a problem with Self/KU right now not committing to playing MU. I’ll have a HUGE problem if they actually stop playing MU.
I sent that out on Twitter, and after about 20 responses in 10 minutes, well, thought I’d expand here. This morning’s column is about how the emotion involved needs to be set aside for the Big 12 (and Kansas City, for that matter) to best secure a strong future and though that’s tangentially related to the above thought/Tweet, I’ll keep these as separate as possible.
The issue here is — assuming Missouri follows the rest of this sad playbook and joins the SEC — the future of the Border War^.
^ It is the official stance of this blog that it be called the Border War, by the way.
This is especially newsworthy after KU basketball coach Bill Self told the Journal-World, “I’m not going to make a commitment now that we’d ever play again.”
Understand, Self is not making any threats here. He’s not saying he’d want to play Mizzou, not saying he wouldn’t. He’s basically making the only comment that makes sense in the immediate wake of MU officially opening up to switching leagues.
There is a lot of positioning on both sides, but — and this the final point of today’s column — emotion has to be taken out of this.
There are too many viewpoints and too many rooting interests and too many life experiences here to make any general statement accurate, but there’s one thought I’ve seen that is absolutely silly and counterproductive to both sides: that KU should end the Border War out of some sort of spite.
Like, if you leave our conference, screw you, we’re taking our game and going home.
You want to know why KU and MU should continue playing? It has nothing to do with recruiting, nothing to do with playing games at Sprint Center or Arrowhead Stadium, and only a little to do with the tradition of a rivalry that literally goes back to the Civil War.
The games, no matter what, are fun.
Have we forgotten that? There has been so much scandal and talk about revenue sharing and grants of rights and TV contracts that maybe the whole reason we watch and care about college sports is buried.
College sports at their best — and we haven’t seen their best in a while, it seems — are emotional. They are my school against your school, bonds tighter than professional sports can ever create, and there isn’t a place in the country that can claim a deeper and more meaningful rivalry that the one between Kansas and Missouri.
The most fun games of the year for both schools are the ones against each other, and stop it with the Tweets about the games not meaning anything without a conference title on the line. How often is a conference title on the line between those schools in either football or basketball?
The one that jumps out is the 2008 football game, but that was technically just a division title, and besides, if both schools are ranked in the top five nationally we can probably all agree that the game will be meaningful regardless of conference affiliation.
Look, MU is probably going to the SEC now, and if even the most passionate KU fan can be honest with themselves, they’d want the same thing if their school had the option.
It’s not giving in, or doing Missouri a favor to continue the rivalry. It’s doing the fans and alumni a favor, by playing the most anticipated games of the year. For both sides.
This stuff is supposed to be fun, remember?
Julia P
1 year, 7 months agoSure, the games have been fun and the series should continue. None of this changes the fact that it will seriously diminish the rivalry because we are essentially playing for nothing. There just won’t be the same passion. I am sad for the loss of what was a great rivalry but soon will be no longer.
Big Orange
1 year, 7 months agoMissouri is a good all-around school: academics, athletics, audience, etc. … I get that. But as a long-time Tennessee fan, it’s clear to me that Missouri is not a cultural fit with the rest of the conference. Arkansas and A&M are mixtures of Deep South and Texas/Midwest, but Mizzou is just Midwest. As nice as that is, no one in Knoxville or Birmingham cares a whit about the Border War, the same way no one in Kansas City or St. Louis cares about the Third Saturday in October (UT-Alabama) or the Iron Bowl (Alabama-Auburn).
It’s clear to me that conference expansion has gone too far. Let’s not lose the rivalries that make this game special, or dilute the special culture that each conference’s fans bring to the table. Someday I’ll make the pilgrimage to see the RRSO or the Border War, but let’s keep that experience intrinsic to the locale.
chad carpenter
1 year, 7 months agoSorry, Sam, the sentimental ploy is no longer in play. This thing is all about money and the final nail in the sports for fun and exercise. For me, it started with MU wanting to go to the Big 10, then there is Pujols’ willingness to leave st. louis b/c he was only offered top 8 money, not top 5. Then, the NFL lock out. Then, the NBA lock out. Now we actually add the bookend to this money grab with MU looking to get a great pay day in the SEC. Do you really think anyone cares about the rivalries with this circus? LIFE will go on after MU leaves the Big 12. games will be played and people will watch. Whether it is intense or historical…doesn’t matter any more. FWIW, MU started this, I just hope they hurry up and finish it….and make it worth all the suspense. Don’t just do this to go nowhere. OU already played the hand to make Texas open to sharing revenue. There is no reason to play this move, other then to selfishly drag this out for media exposure. Leave and let the rest of us move on. Quit holding the rest of us up from doing what we need to do as MU tries to posture itself. Does anyone long for the Chiefs to play Seattle every year? Does anyone beg for the Royals and Brewers to agree to meet in interleague play? Sprint Center will continue with concerts and arrowhead might actually pay attention to the NFL fan experience by shutting this one down. KU won’t miss mizzou. KU might wish they were around so we could make more money, but who can say the Big 12 wouldn’t still generate money as 8 , or if they expand. I don’t care if MU leaves, in fact if you go then MU will never get 100 wins against KU in basketball after over 100 years of play. For me, that would be a wonderful finish to the old era of sports. Now it’s time to move on.
Greg A
1 year, 7 months agoI could understand why Bill Self wouldn’t want to keep the border war game….competitively there is nothing to gain.
Sam Mellinger
1 year, 7 months agoChad, you’re helping make my point. It’s not just sentimentality. KU-MU is also a heck of a moneymaker. You think TV is more interested in showing KU-Arkansas or KU-Mizzou? One of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in the country? Or just another game like 20 others on the schedule?
Ryan Parks
1 year, 7 months agoThe games and the rivalry should and will continue. Understandably, Kansas (and it’s fans) are not happy about the decision of Mizzou’s BOC last night. However, if they were in Mizzou’s shoes, they would do the same thing.
If KU thinks threatening to withhold the rivalry games will keep MU around, they’re only deceiving themselves.
More importantly, if KU ended the rivalry series out of spite, they would be doing serious financial harm to themselves. Once things settle down, logic will prevail and KU and MU admins. will realize how much $en$e it makes to continue playing one another.
chad carpenter
1 year, 7 months agoSorry, I thought your point was that it was for fun and excitement. I guess we could keep the “Ford”-er War, for the extra million or 2. So I guess we agree. Our Universities should continue to play so that we can get more money, better facilities, and better TV contracts. It’s a win-win….or is it a draw? I just liked it better when it WAS about the game and the rivalry.
Jennifer Creagar
1 year, 7 months agoThe KU/MU game will always mean something. Sam is right, it means fun. It means that, until the next one, It means bragging rights for the winner. It means otherwise perfectly reasonable people will revisit and re-argue the Civil War. It means the best of college sports - the noise, the fight songs, the cheers, the friendly arguments, the team shirts at the office. The Border War has a lot of meaning for the people who love either school and what division we are playing in really has very little to do with it.
Sco Jo
1 year, 7 months agoI didn’t go to either school, so I’m not being snarky when I ask: Will MU matter in the SEC?
Not only do they have their own ancient, pre-existing rivalries, like MU/KU. Those schools are in bigger stadiums and field stronger teams like Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Florida…it’s a murderers row for football at least. Will Mizzou become a footnote?
TJ Lynn
1 year, 7 months agoI’m a passionate KU fan, and if KU had the option to stay in the Big 12 or leave to go to the SEC or Big 10, I’d want them to stay. Being apart of someone else’s tradition doesn’t seem like a great deal to me, but maybe I’m just not insecure enough. Or greedy enough.
When MU goes, the series should end. The folks in St Louis don’t think it’s a big game anymore anyway. MU will build new rivalries. Arkansas is a neighboring state. Vandy isn’t that far away. And there’s a 15-year-old rivalry with A&M that will continue, so they’ve got that going for them. Maybe it will enjoy the novelty of being dominated in basketball by UK instead of KU.
chad carpenter
1 year, 7 months agoThinking about this more, I believe coach Self is talking about what he would do in basketball, not the border war. I think KU could get more from a home and home with another school besides MU. As for the Ford-er war, MU would not really need the money, since they would receive more money by simply being in the SEC. I also don’t know why either would want to schedule one another. I don’t foresee KU tearing through the conference schedule, neither would the tigers in the SEC regular schedule. And if they did play, the loser would likely jeopardize bowl eligibility…and the loss of those dollars and practice time. I just don’t see it making sense, and I can’t say I will miss it. Sorry, but MU is as shaky as Texas. The most stable thing for the conference might be for MU to go to the SEC and Texas go independent. The remaining conference could add teams and pick up from there. I welcome the opportunity to finally get on with the change.
Mark Peavy
1 year, 7 months agoAs for the MU-KU rivalry being a big deal, I agree with the people who say it’s only a big deal to the citizens of Kansas and western Missouri. Do the folks in Atlanta get excited when Missouri plays Kansas? Yeah, about as excited as the folks in Kansas City get when Georgia plays Georgia Tech. In fact, I have a hard time thinking of a rivalry that really excites people on a national level. The Army-Navy football game strikes an emotional chord among some people across the nation. More typically, people care a lot more about games involving top-ranked teams than they do about traditional rivalries.
As for using the phrase “The Border War,” I’m all for it. But why stop there? Let’s bring back “The Mexicutioner” and have the Star start writing the full name of the Washington Redskins. Let’s piss everybody off.
Rodney Hollinshed
1 year, 7 months agoI’m with Bill Self. KU will do what is best for KU. If MU can do what they assume is best for MU why would KU do whats best for Kansas City? Makes no sense. Could care less what MU does, as long as they do it quickly. Taking anentie year to decide is crazy and I hope the Big 12 does not allow it. Mellinger cannot make KU play MU. And it’s not KUs’ spite. MU left the league. Let them carry the blame.