Waxing Philosophical on Mizzou Football

My Missouri Tigers destroyed the Nebraska Cornhuskers 52-17 on Saturday. Nebraska is a team that we have had a constant struggle against for basically my entire lifetime. The last time before last weekend that we beat Nebraska in Nebraska was 1978.


In fact, I was watching the game from the sportsbook of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, and when the game was over, a very overserved fellow Mizzou fan we met came back over to our table to show us his drivers license, and birthdate of 1979. He was all excited yelling out "Look....I wasn't even born yet the last time we won in Nebraska!"


My least favorite (and interestingly most favorite at the same time) Nebraska memory actually came in the late fall of 1997. Nebraska was ranked 3rd or 4th I think, and we were playing them in Columbia. It was an amazing game....especially since MU was halfway decent. But still, as per usual, no one expected us to actually give Nebraska a challenge.


Well, we held with them the entire game, only to lose in double overtime. The game should not have even gone into overtime in the first place because some crazy Nebraska guy kicked the ball while he had been sacked, and miraculously it was caught in the endzone to tie it up. I still don't understand how the refs allowed the play. The depressing part was that the Mizzou fans thought the game was over, we had won, and prematurely stormed the field!


Personal side story: I was actually in New Orleans for that game for vaca, and we went to a crazy little sports bar in the French Quarter to watch it. It is amazing what ended up happening. At the beginning, I was the only MU lover in the place. And the bar only had one small TV in the corner playing the game. The place was full of LSU fans. But as the game went on, and got more and more interesting, the whole bar started to root for Mizzou. And one by one, every TV in the place got switched to the MU / Nebraska game. This was mainly because the LSU game was over, and it was better for LSU if Nebraska lost. But whatever the reason, it was a blast to be out of town, and still have people cheering for your team. A trademark phrase of mine was born that day.....

"That's MY team!"

I was so thrilled that we had a chance of winning, that everytime the Tigers scored, or did anything right for that matter, I felt the need to shout out "That's MY team." Basically to inform all the LSU fans that I was a true MU Tiger supporter, and not just wanting the other team to lose. It seemed that the more overserved I got, the louder and more often I yelled out the phrase. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I may or may not have even jumped up on the bar and shouted it to all those cheering below me! For those of you reading, that recall me yelling the phrase at other MU games, now you know the origin.


O.K. , back to what provoked this blog on my relationship with Mizzou football. A friend of mine made a comment to me today about my excitement on our most recent game. It was a mocking comment. That friend (and you know who you are), tried to belittle our big Nebraska win by pointing out how bad all the Nebraska matchups have been in the past, and basically insinuately that dispite this particular game, our 1-30 record against the Huskers means Missouri football is not for real.


Even ignoring the misrepresentation of the actual record (its 5-28 since 1978), I got a little fired up, especially on a personal level. I know we have been bad in the past. It's not a secret. I'm not a bandwagon fan. I've been around awhile. In fact, I have a great quote that sums up my feelings on the last 15 years of following and routing for Mizzou football....


"Mourn the losses, for they are many. But celebrate the victories, for they are few."


After many, many years of mourning losses, now there are victories to celebrate. And celebrate them I will. I've earned it. All true Mizzou fans have. I stayed a fan though countless losing seasons. This is my time to celebrate my football team.


More about the comment (I can't seem to shake it) or what the comment represented......


My issue, on a broader scale, is the realization that it seems some are not taking Missouri football seriously. We may not have a tradition of being ranked or even having consistent winning seasons, but that doesn't diminish the Tigers accomplishments this season (or last season, for that matter). Mizzou is #3 in the country. We have the #1 offense in the country, and a very serious Heisman contender quarterback. We have yet to score less than 42 points in a game. We have already beat one ranked team this year. And we just turned the Cornhuskers into creamed corn in their house. We have proven ourselves worthy of our ranking and our hype.


I am reveling in the success of the Tigers. And I am enjoying the benefits that come with having a winning football team....the school has record alumni donations; the games are nationally televised instead of random regional coverage; and Faurot Field is packed with fans drowning in Tiger colors. I am also dealing with the sucky parts of having a winning team. For example, how hard it is, all of a sudden, to get tickets to the games we have always gone to.


Maybe 5 or 10 or 15 years from now, if we are again a second rate, unranked team who everyone laughs at, so be it. Hell, it could even happen next year.....and (knock on wood) this season is far from over. But you know what....even if and when it all falls apart, I will still be wearing the black and gold on game day. I will still try to make it to Columbia at least once a season. I will still get excited for the border war with KU. Plus, I predict, I will probably be boring everyone with stories about the glory days in 2008. Because.....


That's MY team.


And win or lose, it always will be.