KU Vs. MU: A Very Unique Rivalry

I just recently realized that a lot of people don't have the great fortune of growing up around intense college football rivalry, like I did. I was raised in a suburb of Kansas City (on the Kansas side!), just 10 minutes from the state line. The rivalry between Kansas and Missouri is still going at full strength, coming out in everything from road rage comments to bar names to, perhaps the most popular, college sports. The tension between the two cities dates far back to the Civil War. People on the Missouri side of the river had a way of life like the rest of the south- one ran off of slave labor. But people on the other side, the Kansas side, had northern ideas of freedom and change. People in Kansas would smuggle slaves from their neighbors' backyards, and were fighting with people literally across the street! During and after the Civil War, the tension along this state line was incredibly bitter and violent, perhaps more than any other state line. Another thing to keep in mind is that these were also two of the westernmost states at the time, and Kansas' northern associations are a bit geographically shocking. Today some of those same issues are present- racism, low income, and general lifestyle differences, but they are usually approached in jest. However, the old intense rivalry comes out at its fullest when it comes to sports.

While people in the Kansas City area come together in supporting the Chiefs and Royals, they draw a quick line among themselves when it comes to college sports, especially basketball and football. The game Saturday night between KU and MU basketball teams took this classic rivalry and spread it all over both states. My fiancé (from California) was in shock at the events we experienced in Kansas City this Thanksgiving weekend. He said that though college team rivalry is common everywhere, the proximity of MU to KU is rare. Add to this proximity the history between the two states and you've got an exciting game weekend.

The most talked about thing was a bet that two radio announcers made. If KU won, then KU flags would be hung around town on the Kansas side, including at the city hall, and the same for MU. (MU did win, sadly, and while MU propaganda was all over town the next day, the people haven't heard an ok from city hall yet.) There is a statue of a woman by my house, facing the main road that crosses state line, that someone dressed up in a KU uniform the day before the game. The next day, the costume was destroyed and MU streamers were all over the place. I went out to a bar Friday night full of people already drinking and cheering for MU, fully decked out in yellow hoodies with face paint, stickers, and etc. A couple girls came in with their KU outfits and were literally booed from the bar. For the rest of the night, and the night of the game, each bar was divided in half, with chants, insults, jeers, and just plain cursing flung back and forth relentlessly. While I have many friends on the Missouri side, my family and I were still brutal whenever conversation came to the game.

Saturday night decided the winner, and all of us KU supporters felt let down, dejected, and ashamed at KU's efforts. Half of Kansas City will be walking around with their heads down for the next couple days, gazing up bitterly at MU flags and yellow and black graffiti all over their beloved state. Some of the KU supporters, however, are still positive. They bravely came out of their houses this morning covered in KU gear, proudly supporting their Jayhawks.