K-State vs. KU
30 March 2013
I should start this by saying, I am a K-State fan through and through. I bleed purple and I despise KU, but I wanted to take an objective look at why I despise KU, so that maybe KU fans or anyone can understand it a bit better.
This should a bit different than my typical K-State/KU rant, given that I am completely sober and K-State lost about a week ago, so I’m pretty much over it. Go Shox.
I think the number one reason why at least I, and I have feeling a number of K-State fans, despise KU is because K-State sees them as a rival, but KU doesn’t see us as a rival. I think this could have significantly changed if KU hadn’t fired Mangino and maybe we win another 1 or 2 basketball games in the last few years. But it remains, we kick KU’s ass in football and they kick ours in basketball. Not much of a rivalry actually.
Who else do K-Staters have to consider a rival? Nebraska? Gone. Iowa State? Too far away, and pretty one sided. Our default rival is KU and I imagine the longer that Mizzou isn’t in the Big 12 the more KU will begin to think of us as rivals, as long as they can win more than a single football game next year.
I’m tired of people saying, “if K-State made it further in the tournament than KU, I’d root for them. I’m a state of Kansas fan.” Oh yeah, would you root for Mizzou too if they made it further? Nope. Didn’t think so. You don’t root for your rival. Just because we live in the same arbitrary rectangle doesn’t mean we should root for each other when we aren’t playing each other.
The other point, that I should try to explain, is why I, and many other K-Staters, despise KU fans who didn’t actually attend KU. Notice how that was the first time, I’ve said I despised KU fans, versus KU as an entity. These fans are the ones that I typically find the most off putting about KU. I can get along with KU graduates, even on game day. My boss is a KU graduate.
So first, why does it seem like everyone who attended a school other than K-State or KU favor KU? Because KU has pretty much dominated in the 2 major sports up until Bill Snyder came around, KU dominates in basketball to this day, basketball season is longer than football season, KU is closer to the population centers in Kansas, and probably because KU isn’t an Ag school – Ag isn’t sexy. There is a ton of money to be made in disrupting the Ag industry, but thats a topic for another post and another author.
So why do I typically despise the KU fan who didn’t actually attend KU? Well I think it is mostly because it’s the easy choice. Seriously, it’s not hard to like KU. KU sucks in football and everyone just assumes you are going to be terrible, so no let downs, and it gives fans an excuse to drink more. In basketball KU wins at least one Championship every year. Why do most people have a soft spot in the heart for the Chicago Bulls? Because they won championships.
I think if you are truly a fan of a school, you should make every effort to go there. Now, I know that is not financially possible for everyone and I think college is mostly a waste of time, so spending as little money on it as possible makes sense. I’d say the ratio of my friends who are KU fans that attended KU vs those who didn’t attend KU is probably 1/4. That’s a pretty meager percentage for a university which isn’t that exclusive. I imagine if I was raised in Johnson county, that percentage would be significantly higher. But, I’d need to write a book to dissect what is wrong with Johnson County folks – I’m kidding, kind of.
So next time you see me out after a K-State loss, and I drunkenly shout “Fuck KU,” this is how I rationalize it.