I’ve always been a KU basketball and an MU football fan…
Who doesn’t love a winner? My mom and dad went to MU and I did a year at UMKC, so I followed MU football. But I’ve always loved KU’s basketball program. It’s the best program for sports in our area, and yes, that includes the Chiefs and Royals.
KU basketball is Kansas City’s only elite team nationally and it’s been that way for decades.
Winning a 9th straight Big 12 title proves that Bill Self is a top three national coach.
And this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Jayhawks. Now they’re likely going to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Big Dance in a couple weeks.
Top notch, Bill!
But this year MU showed up huge.
And as we saw yesterday, both teams are about equal. MU wins at home, KU wins at home. Oddly, Kansas deserved the win at Missouri and MU kinda deserved to win at Kansas.
Simply put, I see it this way. Missouri is a shade better as a team and Kansas has the better three stars.
KU’s Thomas Robinson, Tyshawn Taylor and Jeff Withey. Yes, Missouri has the Pressey boys, Ratliffe, English and Denmon, but KU’S stars shine brighter. Robinson has been talked about all year as the NCAA Player of the Year, Tyshawn has moved up to be a possible All American (and NBA pick) Withey is the surprise player of the year, maybe even nationally. He too is NBA pick.
All these guys, including the MU players, are likely NBA picks at some point. Lots of talent.
As for KU’s overtime win, it was just so dramatic. Tyshawn and Robinson took charge at the end and in overtime. A one point win on CBS, game of the week. It locked up Kansas, barring an upset, to be a one seed again. Missouri is now likely a two seed, unless they go undefeated through the Big 12 Tournament and beat Kansas, then maybe a one seed is in reach.
Does the KU-MU series really matter?
HELL YES, IT MATTERS.
The coverage proves that for sure. These two games had the entire town talking. Only the Chiefs playing Green Bay and winning came close. This was the game of the year for KC sports, no question. So they need to continue to play each other.
The city loves it. And now that MU has an outstanding basketball team and a top 10 football team, yeah they need to continue to play each other. Why not?
Because MU left the Big 12? That’s even more reason to want the gunfire to continue. The two best conferences playing each other? Hell yes.
You can’t blame MU for going. There’s no reason to be mad, it’s just business.
Nobody’s blaming the teams coming to our conference for leaving theirs!
Final answer: Kansas is one player (outside shooter) away from being the best team in the nation. MU is one big man away, maybe. I give Kansas the slight edge in who’s best.
On Monday KU will be No. 3 in the nation and MU will fall to likely to 5 or 7, due to the two straight losses.
Kansas Rules
Glazer come on, KU is way better than the Tigers. We always are, KU is Final Four this year.
Ugh.
“I’ve always been a KU basketball and an MU football fan…”
Lame.
“Winning a 9th straight Big 12 title ”
Factually incorrect.
“Does the KU-MU series really matter?
HELL YES, IT MATTERS. ”
Agreed.
Never the Same
Play. Don’t play. It will never have the same gravity. The rivalry meant something because KU and MU were in the same league playing for the same prize. As time goes by, the battle lines will become blurry. Realignment is destroying college sports. The only decisions being made are driven by more and more money. Universities are scrapping decades and decades of tradition in favor of the almighty dolllar. It’s happening nationwide and changing the college landscape forever. Sad.
I’m with Jim…
I will say this though, MU’s departure from the Big 12 – based on the number of years, the rivalries, etc. is a far bigger betrayal than the teams leaving other conferences to join the Big 12.
In principle they’re cut of the same cloth, but MU’s bailing on a decades-old relationship seems quite different than TCU for example, which starting next year will play in its 5th conference since 1995.
Here’s a good one…
During the MU-KU game a huge brawl-20 or so people- let out at Tanners on 119th. Over the game!!! Seriously? One guy was beat pretty severely. I can not understand how people would let their emotions get out of control over a game! It should be all be in good fun. What is wrong with people?
Oh Mermaid thats nothing new
Oh it’s so easy to see Mermaid just look at some of the so called sports blogs, go to some of the so called sport bars and hang in the back and watch. You will see people who have lost touch with all reality. It’s no longer a game to some people it’s a death match and death or pain and injury to anyone who is against your team. If your lucky they will just scream at you if you say anything negitive about their team.
Parents can no longer allow their own kids to play a sport without losing touch with reality by calling people out or screaming at their own kids because of a missed kick or ball dropped.
Heaven forbide an offical makes a wrong call against the wrong team. I to be honest am surprised that sport officals have not been the victims of a beating and what not because of a ruling they made while trying to go home after a game.
No America is losing control over how they act in relation to any sports. It’s great to be a fan but in the end it’s just a game and nothing else.
Hey Super Dave, in other countries they shoot and kill soccer goalies when they lose.
woah
“…MU’s bailing on a decades-old relationship seems quite different than TCU for example, which starting next year will play in its 5th conference since 1995.”
I think Hearne just called TCU a slut
Mermaid and super dave are right.
I won’t watch sports unless I am gambling on it.
‘I’ve always been a KU basketball and an MU football fan…
Who doesn’t love a winner?’
Mizzou’s football team has been to 4 bowl games and won two in the last 29 years. That’s a winner?
Oh yeah, and MU has only had one Top 10 football team since 1970 and that was the Cotton Bowl year in 2007 when they finished number 4.
Sorry I misspoke
10 bowl games in the last 29 years but still just one top 10 finish.
Hype
Maybe KU/MU are saying these things so they can get a sweet deal from the networks to televise football/basketball games. Think about it, they would rack in some serious cash if they did.
Mizzou a winner in football?
Please. They never won the Big 12 and hadn’t won the Big 8 since 1969. Hilarious they think of themselves as some sort of football powerhouse. Or any sport. They rank dead last in Big 12 championships in all sports. Well, tied for dead last with K-State, at 7 each.
At least K-State has 4 Final Four appearances compared to Mizzou’s ZERO!
heard about the brawl…
MU has a lot of tough m-fers as fans. You should be careful what you say…because those
tiger fans are mean….and if you look at the ku fans they tend to be white…non confrontational
…big talkeers and not in good shape. I was at tanners for a previous game…and the ku fans
were totally obnoxious. Watched saturdays game downtown and there were about 4 or 5
ku fans in the whole place and we had a blast drinking jaegar shots with them/
I thin ku fans in a group can get pretty mouthy…but when they see the tough mu people they
tend to quiet down.
As for mu moving to the sec…it is without a doubt the best and most productive move by
the mu administration. With the academic/research/revenues (an extra 35-40 million a year
in broadcast rights)…with the movement in recruiting ( both athletes and students)…with
the better exposure and national branding mu will get..and of course the huge potential windfall
of dollars from the growing southeast u.s…this is truly a very smart move by mu. We’ve decided
to leave and while i will miss the rivalry…this decision was not based on any one point…its just
going to make mu one of the top universities in the nation. Sports yes is important…but with all the
improvements mu is going to be able to make on the other aspects of the university…this is
really a very shrewd and forward thinking decision. The border war was so insignificant to the
mu people. Outside the kc metro area no one cares about this so called rivalry. From a
national standpoint this will be a huge step forward for mu as they accepted the invitation
from one of the strongest leagues…in one of the nations fastest growing areas….and it
was (according to mu administration) an easy decision.
I’m headed to the georgia and alabama games in columbia. This is a new chapter in MU
…its already selling out the stadium and probably will break all season attendance records.
Licensisng rights have risen over 60% and money is streaming in to the university.
An announcement is coming soon of the establishment of one of the nations top business
schools with a large financial grant.
enrollment is exploding…record enrollments and many coming from out of state because of
hte incredible educational atmoshpere they have built and will continue to build in columbia.
We are looking forward to the huge growth and advancing educational goals of mu….
i will miss beating the hawks in football for the next 2 decades but thats not that important
to tiger fans…what’s important is that the university excell and become a world class
university.
ratings show that border war is pretty weak
in comparison with other marquee matchups throughout the bball season…the border
war that we al ltalk about is pretty lame nationally.
The mu/ku game at columbia in prime time saturday drew a 1.1 national rating which is
about average for espn weekday games…of course in kc market it was large…
but in terms of national appeal…not very much at all.
the satruday ku/game in lawrence drew .1.3 nationally…again
rather weak…but for kc marekt the numbers were huge on cbs
outside of kc and kansas there’s really no strong interest in
ku/mu games…sorry to deflate your bubble people.
In fact nhl games draw better than the mu / ku game nationally…
again…noone cares about ku/mu basketball outside of this area…
yes…we take it seriously but nationally itsno big fucking deal.
we all think it s important…no one cares outside of hre…