ST. LOUIS — Despite all their animosity, the University of Missouri and Kansas athletic departments seem to agree on one thing: The customer is not always right.
On Tuesday, the full schedule for the Big 12 / SEC Challenge dropped, and it went over about as well as back-door Mike Anderson's departure from Columbia, Mo.
As announced previously, the Jayhawks will go to Florida. Mizzou, meanwhile, will host West Virginia. Again, lots of folks said, "Ugh."
You see, this men's basketball showcase taking place through November and December would have been the perfect chance for two schools to give fans what they want.
It could have been an easy, one-game answer that would allow Tigers and Jayhawks to relive the great rivalry that lasted a century before Mizzou left for the SEC, and Kansas threw a fit.
Ever since, fans have prayed and wished and begged that the Border War comes back in some way, shape or form. With the Big 12/ SEC Challenge, another opportunity passed.
Naturally, Mizzou wants to blame Kansas and vice versa. Better idea? Realize it's time to start blaming both.
Yes, KU bristled when Missouri switched conferences. It tweeted silly things and its men's basketball coach, Bill Self, shook a finger from his ivory tower. But it's been a while since all of that went down. Since, all there is to show is Mizzou's public offer to resume the rivalry — a smart, but pretty empty, public-relations ploy.
Where's the actual progress?
The bottom line is this: If MU and KU brass would drop the drama and actually start working for the fans who fill their seats, there would have been steps made between then and now. Heck, maybe Mizzou and Kansas would even be playing in the upcoming Big 12/ SEC showcase (I highly doubt either conference would turn down that kind of hype).
We are to the point where both schools should share the blame for letting one of the nation's best rivalries wither on the vine. The Border War used to be one of the best. Now, it's just the pettiest. The fans are the ones who are missing out. And that's a shame.
