What does it mean to be a Kansas fan in the state of Kansas? I guess it depends your perspective. Having grown up in Kansas City I have a few teams that have a piece of my heart regardless of what they do. I will always be a Chiefs fan, even if Carl Peterson runs the franchise into the ground. I will also always be a Royals fan, regardless of how cheap David Glass is and how screwed up the economics of basesball have been. I would submit that this core set of beliefs is common among people in the same demographic as myself, which creates a unique mindset that allows people to understand different fanbases and what their perspective’s are.
This last spring I was in Saint Louis visiting my brother-in-law, Ben, and talking a little baseball. I was excited about the prospects of my Royals upcoming season and felt the need to tell Ben all about our youth movement and how Dayton Moore was going to create a team for the ages. For some reason, Ben lacked the enthusiasm and zeal for Dayton Moore’s vision of success that I have.
Camacho: “Ben, you just watch. The Royals are going to surprise some people this year. Alex Gordon is easily going to hit 30 homers, Billy Butler is a lock for 20 on top of that, and our pitching staff is sick. You know that the Royals are waaay better than the Cardinals.”
Ben: “Camacho, you know you sound like an idiot. You can’t come to the mecca of baseball country and talk about the Royals. You sound like a fool.”
Camacho: “Listen Ben, if the Royals played in the Cardinals division we would have easily won more games than the Cardinals last year. Shoot we probably would have taken the division. Plus, who do you think you are, THE YANKEES?”
Ben: “Camacho, I hope you realize what you are acting like. You sound just like a K-State fan talking smack to KU fans. I mean, who cares about the Royals. We get excited about you guys two series a year. Our real rival is Chicago just like KU’s real rival is Mizzou.”
Camacho: “Ben, that was perhaps the meanest thing you have ever said to me.”
I had an epiphany that day that I will never forget. As a Royals fan it was really hard to stomach, but I could now understand the mindset of the K-State fan. It feels like every decision that the government makes is in favor of your rival. For example, the state of Missouri paying for the new Busch Stadium, while making the Royals pass a local tax to renovate a 40 year old stadium. The game of baseball waiting 10 years too long to pass revenue sharing is another great example. On top of that, they took a local player right out from under our noses and he becomes the best 1st baseman in the game. Damn you Pujols!
K-State has the same gripes about KU. Why does Kansas get to have all of these great facility upgrades, while we are stuck with a stadium that only holds 30,000 people? Why won’t Kansas push for increased revenue sharing in the Big XII to help us compete against Texas and Oklahoma? Lastly, why is Kansas getting all of the top local talent from the state of Kansas?
Some people hate to admit it, but there are often simple answers to complex questions. Teams that have a legionary and dedicated fan-base will put a quality product on the field and remain relevant even in times of drought. K-State’s run in the 1990′s and earlier this decade in football proves my point perfectly. They were a Johnny-come-lately in football that built a pretty solid following, but they have been unable to sustain it after a great coach left the program. Once this happened, the recruits stopped coming en masse and K-State sees itself where it is today. They are indeed the Royals compared to the historically dominant Cardinals/Jayhawks, minus the world series trophies.
Being a Jayhawk is quite a bit easier than trying to defend the Wildcats. K-State is historically a far inferior product and has a fan base that is well aware of this. That is why you see them get so upset when Kansas fans don’t seem to care as much as they do about the rivalry. Wildcat fan, I know this hurts to hear, but someone needs to tell it to you. The fans and the players can talk all of the smack that you like, but KU and their fans will just say good game and look forward to a game against a worthy rival. The Missouri Tigers.
Camacho
The real question is why does Kansas consider Missouri their biggest rival. Missouri drags Kansas down. MIssouri has never done anything at all in basketball or football. At least K-State has done something. It is kind of sad how KU tries to copy Missouri fans in their vile chants such as at the kickoff of football games. Missouri fans do it because their sports programs have been irrelevant since they were started. Why KU stoops to these levels is beyond me. The truth is for real KU fans the real rivalry is KSU and always will be. Missouri is only a rival for Johnson county fans.
Great Artcile! Silo Tech is a horrible, HORRIBLE place.
Hector you are clearly a K-State fan, which just emphasizes his point even more. All KU fans I know could care less about K-State. Even on campus K-State is just not considered a big rival. There is a bitterness and a hatred between KU and MU. It goes back to the Civil War. The rivalry isn’t about Johnson County in any way.
I think Reinadulce describes it perfectly. If you happen to be a K-State fan and a Royals fan, you may not have any idea on where a KU fan is coming from. If you are a KU fan that is a Royals fan, then you understand the plight of the Wildcat. It is truly sad to see someone who has no idea how terrible they are, or how idiotic they look. It is like seeing a guy with a mullet and a pack of smokes rolled into his sleeve that thinks he is the coolest dude in the bar. Sorry buddy, but you have K-State syndrome.
Camacho
It is obvious that the writer of this article is a KU fan that believes what he wants to believes and doesn’t want to face reality. Reality is buddy that K-State kicked your butts ten straight years. Now you tell me, when they were doing that, did that make them look like the Royals? If you are a sports fan, the answer is no, K-State did not look like the KC Royals. Ever heard of a coach transition that takes time to hit? Bill Snyder did his work here and now we have a new head coach trying to make a name for himself. He has had a rough start, but at least he made it to a bowl game. On the other hand, if you want to talk about a drought on playoffs like the Royals, KU has never been to back to back bowl games. NEVER. K-State: 11 straight years. Swallow it up and face the facts. KU’s tough years are finally paying off, at least they did last year. If you lose this Saturday to us, you may not be able to break the streak of NEVER going to back to back bowl games.
As I was saying, KU vs. MU might mean something on the KU campus or in Johnson County. Across the state of Kansas the real rivalry is KSU and playing MU is no different than playing Colorado or Nebraska. This is largely due to Missouri having never done anything that mattered in basketball or football. Also, is Lawrence some great big city? You would think by the reactions of fans living there that it was. Lawrence is just another big town in the state of Kansas that is mostly farm land.
I realize that this is an important rivalry to most of rural Kansas. Unfortunately, it is not that important to people in Kansas City, Wichita, and Topeka. K-State is to KU as Mizzou is to K-State. You made my point perfectly.
Camacho
K-State only has a 30,000 seat stadium??
Ku fans care about the rivalry so little, they’ve torn down the goalposts the last two times in Lawrence, and ku fans talk about crying for joy after the ku-KSU game in 2004.
The Jayhawks have been dominant in football? Did I pass out for 20 years?
Judging by this comment, I gather that your history of KU and MU football begins in 2007?
Come talk to me when you guys actually win a Big 12 Title, and don’t back your way into a bowl game Mizzou should be playing in.
I agree KU cares about the KSU game but only on that weekend. The MU game is talked about all year. Even though KSU won a basketball game last year I still look forward to beating MU more than KSU next year. It’s not a matter of what has MU ever done it’s more of the fact that I live in Kansas City and have to put up with hearing MU fans talk trash for no apparent reason 24/7. I have a lot of KSU friends and we kind of joke about the game but no one really cares.