You know what the best part of Kansas and Missouri having their best ever seasons at the very same time is? The entire nation will get exposed to what is possibly the most bitter and hateful rivalry in the country in all it's glory (or shame, if you prefer). You can have your Ohio State v. Michigan or Alabama v. Auburn, but the last time I checked nobody from Columbus ever went to Ann Arbor and systematically executed every man they could find while burning the town to the ground. And certainly nobody made t-shirts later celebrating that fact.
But that did happen in 1863 in Lawrence, KS when William Quantrill led his band of "Bushwackers" to the "Jayhawker" stronghold and went on a 4 hour rampage that would become known as the "Lawrence Massacre" - one of the ugliest episodes of the brutal 10+ years of fighting along the Kansas and Missouri border. While the Civil War has become the South v. the North in most people's minds, the fighting in fact began as a violent guerrilla conflict between the abolitionists in Kansas and the slave holding Missouri settlers (more or less, like many guerrilla campaigns there were quite blurred lines at times). In many ways, those old wounds have never quite healed - Grandpa Simpson will be be deep in the cold, cold ground before he recognizes Missour-ah as a state, for example.
Those t-shirts seen above that some Missouri fans are making for the showdown at Arrowhead in two weeks are celebrating the Lawrence Massacre and in fact have Quantrill's visage and slogan emblazoned on the back - "Raise the Black Flag and Ride Hard Boys. Our Cause is Just and Our Enemies Many". Talk about going straight past normal levels of fan behavior and making a hard right turn into loony land, that might be the single most offensive gameday t-shirt I've ever seen. Kansas fans are now responding with t-shirts sporting noted violent Kansas abolitionist John Brown (who led a massacre of his own and the 1859 Harper's Ferry raid that really kicked off the Civil War powder keg) with the slogan "Keeping America Safe From Missouri Since 1854" - a mock-up of those t-shirts can be seen here.
This game is going to be played on a neutral site at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City - home to huge parking lots for tailgating and beer sales in the stadium during the game. It's going to be for a berth in the Big XII Championship Game at the very least, and a shot at the National Championship at the most. Liquored up fans sharing the same parking lots and stadium, some who are celebrating their history of brutal violence against each other? Two fanbases who hate each other, with the chance to not only continue their own dream season but also to end the chance of glory for their rivals? Yeah, no way that doesn't end up without at least a few folks in the slammer. It's going to be a fun Saturday for the KCPD and Jackson County Sheriffs.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
11-12-2007 @ 9:22PM
jkl1 said...
What is this shirt saying? "Hi! I'm proud to be associated with slavery"? "Ownage lol I pwnd all ur innocents"?
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11-12-2007 @ 11:35PM
Josey Wales said...
Kansas, circa 1854-present .......... home of self-righteous red-legged rapists, murderers, and thieves. Tell us again how superior you are.
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11-13-2007 @ 12:05AM
jkl1 said...
You know what, we could argue all night. But at the end, you'd still end up on the side of militant pro-slavery mobs. Also, Kansas is celebrating John Brown. He's a flawed man for sure, but a it's one hell of a lot better than celebrating and making light a brutal evil act itself.
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11-13-2007 @ 12:36AM
George B Vieto said...
I just hope that the game is very well played and not turn out to be marred by post game fights.
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11-13-2007 @ 8:08AM
Gern Wormstead said...
I love it. When those two schools are having their best seasons ever and the only conversation is about something that happened over 140 years ago. That's actually appropriate since the whole big 12 is a total joke and those rival redneck inbreeders (Oklahoma, Mizzou and Kansas) are going to knock each other off in the next few weeks to become totally insignificant again, the way it should be.
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11-13-2007 @ 8:08AM
mjha said...
If you want to talk offensive, you do know that the Kansas logo in itself is offensive to Missouri. You named your University after a bunch of murderers rapist and thieves.
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11-13-2007 @ 8:36AM
petejayhawk said...
Suck it, slavers.
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11-13-2007 @ 9:55AM
John B said...
In anticipation for this game, rebel flag sales have skyrocketed in misery. All things missouri = scum of the earth.
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11-13-2007 @ 11:53AM
Border Resident said...
John Brown's Redleg jayhawkers financed their efforts by stealing from Missouri Farmers. This included slaves who were then SOLD BACK INTO SLAVERY.
Apparently, it bears repeating that slavery was an atrocious institution and that neither side was "innocent." Let's call the Jayhawkers and the Bushwackers what they were, terrorists.
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11-13-2007 @ 11:53AM
Border Resident said...
Jayhawker bands waged numerous invasions of Missouri and also committed some of the most notorious atrocities of the Civil War, including the Lane-led massacre at Osceola, Missouri, in which the entire town was set aflame and at least 9 of the male residents killed. The sacking of Osceola inspired the 1976 film The Outlaw Josey Wales, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Jayhawkers also were accused of engineering the collapse of a jail in Kansas City in which female relatives of bushwhackers were incarcerated by Union sympathizers because of their connection to pro-Confederate guerrillas. These two incidents were prior to the Lawrence Massacre in Lawrence, Kansas, led by William Quantrill and his band of bushwhackers.
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11-13-2007 @ 12:48PM
Jape said...
Maybe you MU fans could put a picture of a lynching on your next shirt? After all, that was the "just cause" yer boy Quantril was so happy to be supporting....
I wonder how the african american athletes that make up your squads feel about this shirt?
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11-13-2007 @ 12:48PM
Joesph Biner said...
While the Kansas Missouri rivalry is incredibly intense, the rest of the world needs to realize this whole pro-slavery/anti-slavery dispute is only being waged by the geeks who populate the fan boards of the two schools. Odd ducks indeed, and hardly representative of the fan bases of the two schools.
There are so many funny, and timely ways to make fun of Missouri fans, why go 150 years in the past to make fun of them.
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11-13-2007 @ 12:48PM
vpete said...
Yes, John Brown stole slaves from Missouri owners, but he did NOT sell them down South. It is well documented he helped them to freedom, and escorted many to Canada.
However, during his efforts to make Kansas a free state, he and his group committed some horrendous murders in response to pro-slavery threats.
Both sides were guilty, people, and both shirts are offensive.
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11-13-2007 @ 1:08PM
Ted said...
Umm....border resident, you need to check your facts. Lawrence was burned to the ground twice by Bushwackers. the first time came before the sack of Osceola and those other incidents. The formation of the Jayhawkers was in response to the burning down of Lawrence. If you don't believe me I can point you in the direction of the graves in Lawrence. The Bushwackers tried to attack Lawrence a third time, but were turned back by Jayhawkers. The Jayhawkers were not a terrorist organization. There were many sects, some bad and some good. Most were there for the sole purpose of defending Lawrence and the rest of Kansas, unfortunately there were those who went on offensive strikes that were not condoned by the jayhawkers as a whole. KU's mascot represents the good.
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11-13-2007 @ 1:51PM
mcpayne785 said...
larry smith -- while these schools have not exactly sported model football programs over the years, the basketball programs have more than made up for the long, boring falls. As such, we've had plenty of time to develop a deep seeded animosity towards each other. This shit comes up quite often between the two fan bases, but the difference now is that the rest of the country is paying attention because of the football success.
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11-13-2007 @ 2:06PM
MC SCAT CAT said...
The critical question is where can one buy one of these shirts?
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11-13-2007 @ 2:07PM
MC SCAT CAT said...
Where can one buy one of these shirts?
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11-13-2007 @ 3:04PM
KSBallen said...
Umm no matter who did what when quantril still killed about 185-200 people most taken from their homes at night. Nothing the jayhawkers did even comes close. John Brown was flawed and killed 5 in Lawrence but at least he was on the right side of history. That said neither side is clean but any sane american that watches the game and sees the Mu shirts (and the KU ones to some extent) and their rebel flags waiving will hopefully be disgusted. One a more positive note I have developed an idea for a shirt that has no historical ties other than to one booger eating incident. http://www.flickr.com/photos/20682534@N04/2005612782/ let me know if anyone thinks they want one or what should go on the front
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11-13-2007 @ 3:19PM
Firebug451 said...
Shouldn't we really be focusing on how fat Mangino is? I mean he is really fat. I hope there is going to be a crane ready for when they have to carry him off the field and a flat bed ready to take him to the hospital.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mangino
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11-13-2007 @ 3:45PM
jhawks#3BCS - eat it Mizzou said...
I agree that references to the brutal and merciless slayings of men women and children seem a bit out of place here. The sad part about it is that kids these days are so desensitized they can't even comprehend the reality that underlies these horrific events. Somehow it becomes 'funny' to them, which is a pretty pathetic statement about this generation.
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