The final class of students who can say they were a part of the Big 12 Conference are due to graduate in May.
Yes, we are in the SEC, the crown jewel of college athletics. We now play teams that seem to tout that they are the best at _fill-in-the-blank sport_ every year.
Though this may be true, most consider the University of kansas (lowercase on purpose) as the enemy and chief rival of the University of Missouri. Or at least you should.
I am a native Missourian, so I learned at a young age that kansas is our arch-nemesis. More foul than Russia. More despicable than North Korea. Plain and simple, the absolute worst.
But because of our move to the SEC, kansas refuses to schedule a regular season game against the Tigers in any sport.
Luckily, the NCAA enjoys making the Jayhawks play us in postseason competitions.
We’ve faced off against these losers in two NCAA tournaments: Once in softball in May of last year, and the other in soccer. We have prevailed twice.
Besides a three-year hiatus, the Border War is still the second-longest college football rivalry, holding its first game in 1891.
But because kansas is scared of us, we have been forced to find a new rival. One that holds geographical, cultural and historical significance.
I’m obviously speaking of the newly christened Battle Line Rivalry with the University of Ar-kansas.
You’re probably saying, “But Brendan, it’s pronounced ‘Arkansaw,’ not ‘Ar-kansas’!”
And you _were_ correct. Until we joined the SEC. Now, in order to preserve the past, we must alter the name of our new rivals. It definitely helps that no one wants to be associated with kansas, so it adds a little flavor to the rivalry as well.
This relates to the Antlers because we have traditions to uphold, and come rivalry time, one of the most sacred of traditions is carried out.
In preparation for last Saturday’s Ar-kansas game, we had a hog feast at Smokin’ Chick’s BBQ the Friday before the game.
This was accompanied by meeting Dirty Mike Anderson and the Boys at the airport, after which we cut their bus off and took a slow drive down Stadium Boulevard to Mizzou Arena. (Sorry, Columbia.)
If you looked over at us on Saturday, you could see that gave the first-year Antlers spiffy (disgusting) new haircuts and dresses, while the older guys dressed as their redneck male counterparts — a representation of the Ar-kansas fan base.
We may have lost the game in a heartbreaking finish, but we’re proud of the team (and of Wes, who we love unconditionally) regardless. If anything, that difficult loss adds fuel to the rivalry fire.
In the end, the Antlers do what we can to help out our boys on the court, and that includes buying into the new rivalry that we are a part of.
Although the true enemy is and always will be the Jayhawks, we can now enjoy a new archenemy in the “Hawgs” down south.
Just remember today’s lesson: It’s “kansas” and “Ar-kansas,” not “Kansas” and “Arkansaw.”