I've been hearing about it all week. This is the game of the year in the Midwest, and possibly of the college football season. Kansas vs. Missouri has had its share of big moments on the basketball court, however, the same can't be said when it comes to the football field.
I know all about this first-hand, being born and raised in the center of the venom (and this week's contest), Kansas City. By now, you've probably heard all about the rivalry. The intensity. The fact it's the oldest west of the Mississippi. How it dates back to the actual Civil War. The literal bloodshed might have become less bitter, but the pride has always stuck around.
K.C. is a bit unique in that it's a major city divided into two states. Sure, New York can also have that claim, but the feeling seems to be different. Kansas City is pretty much dissected half-and-half by a couple items as quaint as a street and the Missouri River. Even more simplistic, the street is obviously called State Line Road.
This thoroughfare that people pass on and across everyday shows the signs of how close-knit the Border War is. While there is a small bit of intermixing close to the boundary, it doesn't take long to be swept up in a sea of blue and red flags to the west or black and gold banners to the east.
Growing up on the east side of the division, my pride went the way of the Tigers, hoping that teams that limped around with three-win records and suffered agonizing defeats to bizarre moments like the "Fifth Down" (1990 vs. Colorado) and the "Fleakicker" (1997 vs. Nebraska) could someday turn their fortunes around.
Going to high school on said State Line Road, the mix of Mizzou-rah and Rock Chalk spirits were forced to co-exist. Learning to live with KU fans, you come to commiserate with them, knowing the same kind of folly-filled history that they also suffered through. See, we kids might not have seen the most consistent of programs, but both schools did have a heyday, however brief it was.
Both schools had at least marginal success in the '60s, with Kansas going 49-39-4 between 1960 and 1968, including two top-11 AP poll finishes (two of the victories were forfeited, but I'll keep them in for the sake of this argument). Missouri fared even better with a 77-22-6 record from 1960 to 1969 and finished in the AP top-11 five times.
Since the AP writers' poll went into effect in 1936, both teams have had their shot at making it into the top five. KU reached its benchmark ranking of number three in the country during the 1968 season, while MU crept all the way to number one heading into the final game of the 1960 campaign, only to lose that contest to the Jayhawks (it was one of the forfeited victories, but again, just for the sake of argument).
But even with the past success, most of the younger fans of these two schools can only relate to miserable teams sometimes playing miserable, lopsided games. Heck, the only two times both teams have been ranked going into the game were in 1968 (No. 7 KU def. No. 13 MU 21-19) and 1973 (No. 20 KU def. No. 19 MU 14-13).
Then, you get to the 2007 season. A year where "wacky" is the only word to describe the college football landscape. Appalachian State wins at Michigan (wacky). Five Number 2s fall to unranked teams (wacky). Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Michigan, USC, Florida, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, and Virginia Tech all have more losses themselves than Kansas and Missouri combined (insane).
I went back to K.C. for the first time in almost four years this past weekend. Around town, you could feel the anticipation in the air when the Tigers beat Kansas State early on Saturday. It got even thicker once Iowa State proved no match for the Jayhawks a couple of hours later. I could hear it and see it while out on the town that night. Everyone finally could realize the stakes, the dreams, and the possibilities.
This game that had moved to K.C.'s Arrowhead Stadium for a mere glimpse of exposure became more than a blood feud. It was now a showcase blood feud. It grew into one of the most important pieces in this season's BCS puzzle. Who could have said that five years ago? Shoot, how 'bout five months?
On my trip home, I drove down State Line Road, more reminiscent of my childhood and high school days than anything else. But now, I can look back on that as a symbol of two proud states that share history beyond just one "fluky and important" football game in 2007.
I must admit that, for once, it feels good to root heavily for a team that's a big part of a national championship picture. But my pride also comes from the fact that the chief rival to my cheering for the last two decades is along for the ride. Even with my bitterness towards Jayhawk Nation, I have to agree that KU's season is a great story. One that deserves a fairy-tale ending in a warm location at the beginning of January.
Just not on a cold, bitter November night in Kansas City, okay?
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