AT 7 O’CLOCK tonight, traffic is likely to be light in Emporia. That’s when The Game begins.
If you have to ask, “What game?” we are glad that you have awakened from your coma. We are sure your family is overjoyed and your doctors are amazed. Just don’t expect them to throw the welcome-back party tonight.
This is the night that the University of Kansas football team, 11-0 for the season, plays its archrival, Missouri, 10-1, in what may be the most deservedly hyped game of the year. They are two of the best teams in college football and whichever team wins stands a good chance of playing for the national championship.
Kansas, of course, is the Cinderella team. This year, everything has come together for the Jayhawks — recruiting, coaching and mindset. It is possibly the smartest, best trained team in the country. The players seldom make mistakes and, when they do, they don’t fall apart.
Missouri, of course, is the Evil Empire — at least on this side of the state line. A popular T-shirt among Missouri fans shows an old drawing of Quantrill’s attack on Lawrence in 1863, with the caption, “Scoreboard: Missouri — 156, Kansas — 0.”
On the Kansas side, there is a T-shirt with a picture of abolitionist leader John Brown and the caption, “Kansas: Defending America from Missouri Since 1854.”
Clearly, this is not an ordinary football rivalry. For true fans, more rides on the outcome of tonight’s game than a few bucks in an office pool or mere bragging rights. On both sides of the border, there are people for whom the game will answer the age-old question: Is there justice in the universe?
As Kansans, we hope the answer is yes.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor