MU Like Old Times

KChiefs1 · 02-08-2009, 02:32 PM

http://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=910207

Gabe DeArmond
PowerMizzou.com Publisher

There are a million possible punchlines. Ask a Missouri fan, "Why do you hate Kansas?" and there is really no limit to the number of responses you're going to get. But, if you get down to it, there's really only one answer: You hate them because they're good. Really good. Pretty much always have been, and as much as you hate to hear it, probably pretty much always will be.

Yeah, I know that's a terrible way to start off a commentary on a Missouri fan site. Frankly, 75% of you probably quit reading already. But I promise you there's a method to my madness. See, when I ask why you hate Kansas, and when you answer, you know I'm talking about basketball. Kansas football? Until the last two years, who's ever hated them? I mean, you hate them because it says KU on the helmet, and there is that whole thing about the mascot being a made up bird, but honestly, you don't really hate Kansas football that much. Even when Missouri was awful—and I mean one or two wins a year awful—the Tigers were pretty competitive with Kansas.

Not as much in basketball. Anyone who watches college hoops knows you only have to name five or six schools--and if I'm being honest, probably fewer than that--on the "Greatest Programs of all time" list before you get to the Beaks.

So anyway, I've now spent three paragraphs buttering up the thing most of you hate more than anything in the world. Why did I do it? Because on Monday night, things are once again going to be right with the world.

To explain, I grew up in Kansas City, the dead solid center of Kansas vs. Missouri. You didn't like them both. Or if you did, you didn't know one damn thing about sports, or really, about life in general. I grew up there in the 1980's. Kansas made a couple of Final Fours that decade, they (or so I have been told, I seem to have blocked it out of my memory) won a national title (supposedly in my home town). You know, they were good. Like I said, always have been.

But the thing is, when I was growing up, so was Missouri. There was the 1989 season when the Tigers and Jayhawks batted No. 1 back and forth between themselves in the Oklahoma Sooners in an all-Big Eight game of keepaway. There was Derrick Chievous and then Doug Smith and then Anthony Peeler. There was 1994 with the unbeaten conference season. That was my senior year in high school.

And through all that, there was the Border War. Every game then was big. But none were as big as the two games a year against Kansas. I remember Anthony Peeler dropping 40-plus in a loss. I remember Smith leading the way in a No. 1 vs No. 2 showdown on ESPN that will very likely be replayed at sometime during the day on the Ocho or one of ESPN's other "family of network" stations. I remember Mark Randall and Kevin Pritchard and Pekka Markinnen (I don't think I spelled his name right but I really don't care) and Adonis Jordan and Alonzo Jamison and Jerod Haase and 47 other basketball players that cast their lot with the Evil Empire. Man, people got amped for those games.

Then we went through what I'll call the "Upset Era." In Norm Stewart's last few years, the years I was in college at Mizzou, the Tigers really weren't very good. They had teams led by guys like Tyron Lee and Jeff Hafer and L. Dee Murdock. They played hard, but they really weren't that good. But for one game a year, man they were tough. Four times the Jayhawks came to Columbia ranked in the nation's top three in my college career. Three times, they left losers to the unranked Tigers. There was Corey Tate from the free throw line, there was double overtime for the only regular season loss for Pollard and Pierce and Vaughn and LaFrentz (I still think it was the best Kansas team I ever saw). You know, Missouri wasn't really good, but they won that game.

And since then, well, there hasn't been much. Quin Snyder split his first four games with Kansas. Since then, the Tigers have lost 14 of the 19 times they've played. Mike Anderson hasn't beaten KU. Missouri mostly has been mired in seasons so poor that even beating Kansas didn't give fans anything but a momentary respite from the abyss that was now their program.

But as you wake up and read this, all is right with the college basketball world in these parts. The Tigers and the Jayhawks are both ranked (or at least they will be by tipoff). That's the first time that has happened since February 3rd, 2003. They're both almost certainly going to play in the NCAA tournament. And this game on Monday night, it means something. It could solidify the Jayhawks as the only real threat to Oklahoma. It could put the Tigers in a sudden three-way discussion for the league championship. It gives somebody the upper hand when it comes to a seed in the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament. It's on Big Monday. And it's freaking Kansas.

There's a generation or two of students at Missouri who don't know what this is like. This is the biggest game they've ever seen. And while that's great, it's also kind of sad. See, this game used to happen twice a year when I was growing up. Kansas, they were always good. But when I became a fan, so was Missouri. Monday night would have been just another game back then. Not now. Hasn't been that way for a while. This isn't Big Monday. This is Show-the-Country-Your-Program-is-Back Monday. At least to Mizzou fans.

But more simply, what this is, is the way things should be. It's Ryan Robertson being bombarded with boos. It's the Antlers in dresses. It's Norm and Roy and Dooling's (non) charging foul and Tate's jumper and the best rivalry in this part of the country. And it's back, folks. Enjoy it. This is how it was in the good old days. Let's hope it stays this way for a while.

**doomy3** · 02-08-2009, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

There's a generation or two of students at Missouri who don't know what this is like. This is the biggest game they've ever seen. And while that's great, it's also kind of sad. See, this game used to happen twice a year when I was growing up. Kansas, they were always good. But when I became a fan, so was Missouri. Monday night would have been just another game back then. Not now. Hasn't been that way for a while. This isn't Big Monday. This is Show-the-Country-Your-Program-is-Back Monday. At least to Mizzou fans.

But more simply, what this is, is the way things should be. It's Ryan Robertson being bombarded with boos. It's the Antlers in dresses. It's Norm and Roy and Dooling's (non) charging foul and Tate's jumper and the best rivalry in this part of the country. And it's back, folks. Enjoy it. This is how it was in the good old days. Let's hope it stays this way for a while.

This is hilarious. What's sad is not that "this generation doesn't know what this feels like," but that this is MU's National Championship game. KU plays for the real ones.

And to say that MU and KU were anywhere near equal in basketball at any point in history like this article makes it sound is absolutely hysterical.

Mr. Plow · 02-08-2009, 02:41 PM

Decent article. I liked it.

teedubya · 02-08-2009, 02:44 PM

Good article.

kstater · 02-08-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

To explain, I grew up in Kansas City, the dead solid center of Kansas vs. Missouri. You didn't like them both. Or if you did, you didn't know one damn thing about sports, or really, about life in general.

CoMoChief

**doomy3** · 02-08-2009, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kstater

CoMoChief

yeah, that sentence pretty much explains him exactly.

Mosbonian · 02-08-2009, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doomy3

This is hilarious. What's sad is not that "this generation doesn't know what this feels like," but that this is MU's National Championship game. KU plays for the real ones.

And to say that MU and KU were anywhere near equal in basketball at any point in history like this article makes it sound is absolutely hysterical.

I take it you are a KU fan looking for a reason to revile anything Tigers? I didn't read anything more into this column other than this game has more meaning than it has for a few years. This is neither KU's nor MU's National Championship game...it is a game against a (fun) hated rival....and it shows that MU is finally finding it's way back from pitiful to competitive. And it shows that KU, thought to be not as good this season, is much better than the prognosticators said.

mmaddog
*******

CoMoChief · 02-08-2009, 02:56 PM

Funny, the only thing that came out of the article to me is that the author thinks MU is actually good at basketball this season.

CoMoChief · 02-08-2009, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kstater

CoMoChief

You're ****in reeruned.

teedubya · 02-08-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

You're ****in reeruned.

So have we broken you of your MU/KU love yet? We certainly broke SaulBadGuy down.

you finally given up your MUron love?

CoMoChief · 02-08-2009, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ari Chi3fs

So have we broken you of your MU/KU love yet? We certainly broke SaulBadGuy down.

you finally given up your MUron love?

I never loved MU, all I said is that I thought their football team was better.

**doomy3** · 02-08-2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmaddog

I take it you are a KU fan looking for a reason to revile anything Tigers? I didn't read anything more into this column other than this game has more meaning than it has for a few years. This is neither KU's nor MU's National Championship game...it is a game against a (fun) hated rival....and it shows that MU is finally finding it's way back from pitiful to competitive. And it shows that KU, thought to be not as good this season, is much better than the prognosticators said.

mmaddog
*******

That I will agree with. I thought it felt like the article was trying to make it seem like in the good old days, back when KU and MU were equals at basketball...

It's never been like that. Probably never will be.

**doomy3** · 02-08-2009, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

I never loved MU, all I said is that I thought their football team was better.

How many times do people need to post you saying word for word that you are an MU Football fan before you will quit posting this bullshit?

CoMoChief · 02-08-2009, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doomy3

How many times do people need to post you saying word for word that you are an MU Football fan before you will quit posting this bullshit?

as many times as you want my friend.

kcpasco · 02-08-2009, 03:06 PM

Basketball?

Is that the game played indoor with a round ball?

02-08-2009, 02:32 PM
KChiefs1 I’m a Mahomo! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Mid-Missouri Casino cash: $6771021	Like Old Times http://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=910207 Gabe DeArmond PowerMizzou.com Publisher There are a million possible punchlines. Ask a Missouri fan, "Why do you hate Kansas?" and there is really no limit to the number of responses you're going to get. But, if you get down to it, there's really only one answer: You hate them because they're good. Really good. Pretty much always have been, and as much as you hate to hear it, probably pretty much always will be. Yeah, I know that's a terrible way to start off a commentary on a Missouri fan site. Frankly, 75% of you probably quit reading already. But I promise you there's a method to my madness. See, when I ask why you hate Kansas, and when you answer, you know I'm talking about basketball. Kansas football? Until the last two years, who's ever hated them? I mean, you hate them because it says KU on the helmet, and there is that whole thing about the mascot being a made up bird, but honestly, you don't really hate Kansas football that much. Even when Missouri was awful—and I mean one or two wins a year awful—the Tigers were pretty competitive with Kansas. Not as much in basketball. Anyone who watches college hoops knows you only have to name five or six schools--and if I'm being honest, probably fewer than that--on the "Greatest Programs of all time" list before you get to the Beaks. So anyway, I've now spent three paragraphs buttering up the thing most of you hate more than anything in the world. Why did I do it? Because on Monday night, things are once again going to be right with the world. To explain, I grew up in Kansas City, the dead solid center of Kansas vs. Missouri. You didn't like them both. Or if you did, you didn't know one damn thing about sports, or really, about life in general. I grew up there in the 1980's. Kansas made a couple of Final Fours that decade, they (or so I have been told, I seem to have blocked it out of my memory) won a national title (supposedly in my home town). You know, they were good. Like I said, always have been. But the thing is, when I was growing up, so was Missouri. There was the 1989 season when the Tigers and Jayhawks batted No. 1 back and forth between themselves in the Oklahoma Sooners in an all-Big Eight game of keepaway. There was Derrick Chievous and then Doug Smith and then Anthony Peeler. There was 1994 with the unbeaten conference season. That was my senior year in high school. And through all that, there was the Border War. Every game then was big. But none were as big as the two games a year against Kansas. I remember Anthony Peeler dropping 40-plus in a loss. I remember Smith leading the way in a No. 1 vs No. 2 showdown on ESPN that will very likely be replayed at sometime during the day on the Ocho or one of ESPN's other "family of network" stations. I remember Mark Randall and Kevin Pritchard and Pekka Markinnen (I don't think I spelled his name right but I really don't care) and Adonis Jordan and Alonzo Jamison and Jerod Haase and 47 other basketball players that cast their lot with the Evil Empire. Man, people got amped for those games. Then we went through what I'll call the "Upset Era." In Norm Stewart's last few years, the years I was in college at Mizzou, the Tigers really weren't very good. They had teams led by guys like Tyron Lee and Jeff Hafer and L. Dee Murdock. They played hard, but they really weren't that good. But for one game a year, man they were tough. Four times the Jayhawks came to Columbia ranked in the nation's top three in my college career. Three times, they left losers to the unranked Tigers. There was Corey Tate from the free throw line, there was double overtime for the only regular season loss for Pollard and Pierce and Vaughn and LaFrentz (I still think it was the best Kansas team I ever saw). You know, Missouri wasn't really good, but they won that game. And since then, well, there hasn't been much. Quin Snyder split his first four games with Kansas. Since then, the Tigers have lost 14 of the 19 times they've played. Mike Anderson hasn't beaten KU. Missouri mostly has been mired in seasons so poor that even beating Kansas didn't give fans anything but a momentary respite from the abyss that was now their program. But as you wake up and read this, all is right with the college basketball world in these parts. The Tigers and the Jayhawks are both ranked (or at least they will be by tipoff). That's the first time that has happened since February 3rd, 2003. They're both almost certainly going to play in the NCAA tournament. And this game on Monday night, it means something. It could solidify the Jayhawks as the only real threat to Oklahoma. It could put the Tigers in a sudden three-way discussion for the league championship. It gives somebody the upper hand when it comes to a seed in the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament. It's on Big Monday. And it's freaking Kansas. There's a generation or two of students at Missouri who don't know what this is like. This is the biggest game they've ever seen. And while that's great, it's also kind of sad. See, this game used to happen twice a year when I was growing up. Kansas, they were always good. But when I became a fan, so was Missouri. Monday night would have been just another game back then. Not now. Hasn't been that way for a while. This isn't Big Monday. This is Show-the-Country-Your-Program-is-Back Monday. At least to Mizzou fans. But more simply, what this is, is the way things should be. It's Ryan Robertson being bombarded with boos. It's the Antlers in dresses. It's Norm and Roy and Dooling's (non) charging foul and Tate's jumper and the best rivalry in this part of the country. And it's back, folks. Enjoy it. This is how it was in the good old days. Let's hope it stays this way for a while.
Posts: 54,038

02-08-2009, 02:41 PM	#3
Mr. Plow In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $-1482609	Decent article. I liked it.
Posts: 31,695

02-08-2009, 02:44 PM	#4
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $8993042	Good article.
Posts: 36,832

02-08-2009, 02:56 PM	#8
CoMoChief Mahomes Dynasty Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parts Unknown Casino cash: $7672254	Funny, the only thing that came out of the article to me is that the author thinks MU is actually good at basketball this season.
Posts: 39,245

02-08-2009, 03:06 PM	#15
kcpasco MVP Join Date: Sep 2007 Casino cash: $6143463	Basketball? Is that the game played indoor with a round ball?
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