KcMizzou
11-27-2007, 08:35 AM
Confessing to a bad wager on the Border War
By JASON WHITLOCK
These are my confessions. Just when I thought I said all I could say, my football team on the side had a loss on the way:
•I picked Kansas in the Border War.
Yeah, I wimped out and wouldn’t make a selection in the newspaper before the game. I have enough enemies and figured making a public pick in a rivalry this intense and in a game I had no feel for was a bad option for me.
Now that’s it’s over, the only manly thing to do is admit that I lost a couple of friendly wagers. I rode to the Missouri-Kansas State game with a couple of hardcore Tiger fans, and we were talking so much Border War smack that I backed myself into a corner and had to make a bet.
Earlier that week, I was having dinner with the son-in-law of my good friend Ralph Stull, and Ralph’s boy talked me into wagering dinner at the Capital Grille.
And finally, five hours before kickoff, Paul Coffman sent me a text message asking me whom I was picking. I had previously avoided putting my pick in writing. I instinctively replied to Coffman’s text and said, “Kansas by 3.”
As far as I know, Paul is the only person with documented proof that I once again avoided common sense, played a hunch and picked the wrong team.
•Let me tell you what really bugs me about riding the Kansas football bandwagon last week: The decision flies in the face of everything I believe about Kansas and Missouri when it comes to football.
How many times have I praised Missouri fans for their loyalty and passion for Tiger football? They deserve this success because they thought it was a possibility for the last 20 years when no one else gave them a chance.
Just last week, I wrote that the mentality of a fan base can influence the mentality of a team. Missouri fans wanted it more than Kansas fans. You want proof? Look inside Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night. A crowd that was supposed to be 70-30 in favor of Kansas was 50-50 because Missouri fans bought tickets from Kansas fans who preferred to make a buck rather than support their team.
It was embarrassing. It reminded me of the time that Kansas State fans tore down the goal posts inside Kansas’ football stadium and carried the posts back to K-State.
I feel sorry for Mark Mangino and his players. They can win 11 games every year, build football facilities to match Notre Dame’s and never change the culture at Kansas. It’s a basketball school. The fans only get truly excited by men in shorts.
•Having said that, both fan bases deserve credit for the way they conducted themselves before, during and after the game. Getting in and out of Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday was very difficult. We handled it well. There were few altercations. Nothing happened to distract from the game.
•Sports fans in St. Louis sent me e-mails wondering why I would rip Post-Dispatch columnists Bryan Burwell and Bernie Miklasz in my Saturday column.
It was a joke. Luckily, Bryan and Bernie have more self-confidence and thicker skin than your typical St. Louis sports fan. (Not surprisingly, they weren’t born and raised in St. Louis.) Plus, as I wrote, they’re friends, not just sportswriting peers. Burwell was one of my early mentors and influences.
I can’t pay Bernie and Bryan a higher compliment other than to say they’re the second-best salt-n-peppa, columnists duo working in the state of Missouri. Is there really any higher praise?
•I do not want to see this happen. But Michigan would be insane not to make a run at Gary Pinkel.
Yeah, Les Miles played and coached at Michigan. That does not make him the best candidate to replace Lloyd Carr. The Michigan program is stale. It could use an influx of new ideas. Pinkel knows the Midwest. He’s had major success at two programs. His spread offense would be a hit in Ann Arbor. He’s matured as a head coach. His Ohio roots would give him an understanding of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry and what it would take to compete against Jim Tressel.
Now, I don’t expect Missouri to let Pinkel go anywhere. Tiger fans have waited too long for MU to be relevant again. With a five-star quarterback on the way and most of its offensive stars returning, Missouri will make another sizable investment in Pinkel, his coaching staff and the school’s facilities.
By JASON WHITLOCK
These are my confessions. Just when I thought I said all I could say, my football team on the side had a loss on the way:
•I picked Kansas in the Border War.
Yeah, I wimped out and wouldn’t make a selection in the newspaper before the game. I have enough enemies and figured making a public pick in a rivalry this intense and in a game I had no feel for was a bad option for me.
Now that’s it’s over, the only manly thing to do is admit that I lost a couple of friendly wagers. I rode to the Missouri-Kansas State game with a couple of hardcore Tiger fans, and we were talking so much Border War smack that I backed myself into a corner and had to make a bet.
Earlier that week, I was having dinner with the son-in-law of my good friend Ralph Stull, and Ralph’s boy talked me into wagering dinner at the Capital Grille.
And finally, five hours before kickoff, Paul Coffman sent me a text message asking me whom I was picking. I had previously avoided putting my pick in writing. I instinctively replied to Coffman’s text and said, “Kansas by 3.”
As far as I know, Paul is the only person with documented proof that I once again avoided common sense, played a hunch and picked the wrong team.
•Let me tell you what really bugs me about riding the Kansas football bandwagon last week: The decision flies in the face of everything I believe about Kansas and Missouri when it comes to football.
How many times have I praised Missouri fans for their loyalty and passion for Tiger football? They deserve this success because they thought it was a possibility for the last 20 years when no one else gave them a chance.
Just last week, I wrote that the mentality of a fan base can influence the mentality of a team. Missouri fans wanted it more than Kansas fans. You want proof? Look inside Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night. A crowd that was supposed to be 70-30 in favor of Kansas was 50-50 because Missouri fans bought tickets from Kansas fans who preferred to make a buck rather than support their team.
It was embarrassing. It reminded me of the time that Kansas State fans tore down the goal posts inside Kansas’ football stadium and carried the posts back to K-State.
I feel sorry for Mark Mangino and his players. They can win 11 games every year, build football facilities to match Notre Dame’s and never change the culture at Kansas. It’s a basketball school. The fans only get truly excited by men in shorts.
•Having said that, both fan bases deserve credit for the way they conducted themselves before, during and after the game. Getting in and out of Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday was very difficult. We handled it well. There were few altercations. Nothing happened to distract from the game.
•Sports fans in St. Louis sent me e-mails wondering why I would rip Post-Dispatch columnists Bryan Burwell and Bernie Miklasz in my Saturday column.
It was a joke. Luckily, Bryan and Bernie have more self-confidence and thicker skin than your typical St. Louis sports fan. (Not surprisingly, they weren’t born and raised in St. Louis.) Plus, as I wrote, they’re friends, not just sportswriting peers. Burwell was one of my early mentors and influences.
I can’t pay Bernie and Bryan a higher compliment other than to say they’re the second-best salt-n-peppa, columnists duo working in the state of Missouri. Is there really any higher praise?
•I do not want to see this happen. But Michigan would be insane not to make a run at Gary Pinkel.
Yeah, Les Miles played and coached at Michigan. That does not make him the best candidate to replace Lloyd Carr. The Michigan program is stale. It could use an influx of new ideas. Pinkel knows the Midwest. He’s had major success at two programs. His spread offense would be a hit in Ann Arbor. He’s matured as a head coach. His Ohio roots would give him an understanding of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry and what it would take to compete against Jim Tressel.
Now, I don’t expect Missouri to let Pinkel go anywhere. Tiger fans have waited too long for MU to be relevant again. With a five-star quarterback on the way and most of its offensive stars returning, Missouri will make another sizable investment in Pinkel, his coaching staff and the school’s facilities.