There are no words...

Ok, maybe there are some words.

Border War, border war, border war BORDER WAR!

After surviving Iowa State (thanks for coming down Cyclones, you were accommodating guests as usual), we can all officially do what we've been doing since KU left College Station with a win to go to 8-0: thinking about the game against Mizzou.

Of course, KU has no chance in this game. Why? Because Mizzou played Oklahoma! How can Kansas compete with that? The Jayhawks played BAYLOR! Baylor is no good!

What's interesting, however, and a fact that seems to be conveniently left out by Mizzou fans, is that THEY LOST THE GAME! Yes, Oklahoma in Norman is a tough game. There's no shame in losing that game. We'll ignore for now the Colorado game when Oklahoma decided to take a nap in the fourth quarter - always a sign of a great team, and also ignore last weekend's 34-27 loss at the hands of Texas Tech in Lubbock - a more defensible loss considering OU's all-star QB Sam Bradford was injured and couldn't play most of the game. It is also a sign of a great team when they completely fall apart after an injury, especially on defense (apparently Bradford was also a key player in the Sooner defensive backfield).

So, Mizzou lost to Oklahoma, a team much better than anyone KU has played. They even led late in the game! That's almost worth a championship! Of course, there was another time that Missouri led a highly regarded opponent late in an important game...


This is known as the "Mouse that Roared" argument. "The Mouse that Roared" was a book and a 1959 movie about a tiny European country that figures out the best way to economic development is to lose a war to the United States, which will result in generous economic assistance from the Americans to help rebuild the country. In the movie, the country accidentally wins the war, resulting in some 1950s hilarity. Missouri luckily collapsed after leading OU and was outscored 18-7 in the fourth quarter, which fulfilled their plan.

The Wall Street Journal also ran a story about the rivalry this morning, which is interesting. The best part is the following quote from a former Tiger football player:

"It's enough to start former Missouri player Brandon Barnes, who is African-American, wondering whether Tiger fans are "hating the Jayhawkers for something I might celebrate." But then he remembers the time that Jayhawk fans threw ice at him and footballs at the Missouri team bus."

Just a fabulous fabulous sentiment. Hmmm, maybe it's odd that I, as an African-American, support the fans that use the burning down of the free state capital as a rallying point. But this one time a KU guys threw some ice at the bus. Screw KU. Although I suppose the ice hitting the bus was a more tangible attack than some old Civil War stories, as obviously there are no racial problems in Missouri today - I bet it's been nothing but reconciliation and outreach since 1865.

We'll have more about the historical background of the 1850s and 1860s surrounding the conflict. Oh, we may also have some sort of football analysis. But I wouldn't count on it...