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Good for Mizzou, good for Big 8, good for KU

Well, shit.  Mizzou won.  As KU fans part of us sorta wanted to see Tyus Edny come back from the dead (metaphorically of course) and vanquish our greatest foe yet again.

But let's think about it a bit.

I read the OGT last night and the response to Mizzou's impressive victory was met with a range of emotion that went from a general unease to downright hostility.  To me it was a good thing, no, a GREAT thing.

I'm certainly no fan of Mizzou but I'm a HUGE fan of our rivalry.  Our rivalry is proably one of the few that is based on real substance.  The early KU/Mizzou football games were played by the sons of civil war vets.  It was watched by some who witnessed Quantril and John Brown at their worst.  When people say there's bad blood, in this case it is it is rooted in an absolute foundation of truth.

However, our great and historic rivalry pales on the national scene to that of Duke/UNC, Ohio State/Michigan heck, that hotel commercial features rivalries of Syracuse/Georgetown and Memphis/Louisville (what? huh?) over ours.  On a side note, I found it strange as well that OU/Texas didn't make that 'rivalry' commercial. The Border War football game has received some pub the past two years because both Mizzou and KU have been somewhat more high profile football programs of late.  But for some reason, KU/Mizzou fails to capture national attention when people think about the best rivalries in all of sports.

When both Mizzou and KU are at their best it ends up helping everyone.  The Big XII benefits from more quality from top to bottom but is also able to feature two high profile rivalries.  Many east of the Mississippi have no clue that the calibur of play in the Big XII is so high.  The lead line on SportCenter this morning reassured us of the dominance of the Big East since they've placed 3 teams in the Elite Eight.  We are two attainable steps from that same status as a league.  I'm sure it won't be the lead line Saturday morning that the Big XII is just as dominate as the Big East.  However, as long as we have quality teams and we can sustain our quality rivalries we force those in the media and the Four Letter Network to deal with us.

For these reasons, we need Mizzou to continue to elevate their game.  We need them to make a serious run and reclaim the status of at least a respectable program.  I would hate to see Mizzou win it all, but I would absolutely LOVE lowering the beam on their dreams in the 1st round of the Final Four.  Then for two hours on a Saturday night, the country would be forced to reckon with the Border War.

 

So for now, count me in on the Mizzou bandwagon.  For now.

 

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