Further proof that Kansas, Missouri don’t mix

By Matt Tait     Aug 9, 2016

Tim Kaine, the democratic nominee for vice president and running mate of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, has been in the news for a number of reasons since his name was announced on the ticket with Clinton.

But one of the most intriguing reasons, at least for readers of this site, is his position as a die-hard Kansas basketball fan and University of Missouri graduate.

Huh?

OK. I get it. There are people out there who cross allegiances from time to time and have no problem dealing with the wrath that follows. One of the most popular that I’ve heard is the native Kansan who’s a KU hoops fan and a K-State football fan.

I’ll admit it. I’m not a fan of that one either, but it seems to be a far cry better than the one that Kaine is trying to pass off.

Even if Kaine truly is some sort of strange Jayhawk/Tiger hybrid, he recently showed that he just doesn’t quite get the hatred and bad blood that exists between the two when he responded to an article explaining that he’s the perfect person to “finally melt the ice between the Jayhawks and Tigers.” Those words came from Missouri governor Jay Nixon. And that sentiment, along with Kaine’s response via Twitter, shows just how far out of touch the Missouri side is on this whole thing.

Here’s a look at Kaine’s Tweet.

Let me clear it up: Whether the Clinton/Kaine ticket wins the presidency or not, the Border War is not coming back any time soon.

The leaders in the Kansas athletic department — most notably head basketball coach Bill Self and athletic director Sheahon Zenger — have made it abundantly clear that it is their belief that Mizzou was the one that chose to end the rivalry by leaving for the SEC and Kansas does not owe the Tigers any sort of good will when it comes to the idea of bringing it back.

I’m sure Kaine does not truly believe that he can actually get this done. What’s more, I hope he doesn’t really care. For starters, reviving the Border War rivalry should be the least of his concerns as he tries to come up with a plan to defeat Donald Trump in November and deal with all of the problems currently plaguing the United States.

What’s more, I would hope that he would feel that there is no real place in sports for politics. There are several examples from the past when the two have not mixed and this, at least to me, is just another example of that.

Yeah, it might sound good and win you some votes in the Show-Me State — God help those who base their vote for president on athletics — but it’s not something a potential vice president of the United States should be spending any time thinking about, let alone making public those thoughts.

Add this to the list of crazy occurrences that have made this the wildest campaign/election season ever.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.