Vice presidential hopeful Tim Kaine might have ruffled some feathers with Missouri fans when it was revealed that he rooted for rival Kansas in basketball. But he might have redeemed himself with his latest policy proposal Tuesday.
The Virginia senator tweeted Tuesday that as vice president, he would “broker a deal” to bring back the Border War. The two teams have not played since 2012, when Missouri left the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference.
Yes, this Kansas-raised, Mizzou-educated VP candidate will broker a deal to reinstate the Border War! https://t.co/Wd0fpMFbro
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) August 9, 2016
Kaine has an interesting viewpoint when it comes to this longtime rivalry. He grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, and graduated from Missouri. But despite his Missouri education, he admitted to the Washington Post back in 2008 that he has a split allegiance, rooting for the Tigers in football and Jayhawks in basketball.
This caused Missouri fans to express some doubt in Hillary Clinton’s running mate.
That's like growing up on Alderaan and rooting for the Death Star.
— Matt Pearce 🦅🇺🇸 (@mattdpearce) July 23, 2016
For Missouri and Kansas fans, the Border War goes back to the Civil War, when a group from Missouri reportedly headed to Lawrence, Kansas, and burnt down the city over the states’ differing views on slavery.
The start to the rivalry led to an intense rivalry between the bordering states. But that rivalry abruptly came to an end in 2012 when Missouri left its longtime conference home for the SEC. The two schools haven’t played in football or basketball since. Their only matchups have come in softball and volleyball.
There has been speculation that the Jayhawks are upset with the Tigers for abandoning the conference. Missouri has expressed a desire to resume the rivalry, most recently with former athletics director Mack Rhoades. Kansas, meanwhile, has kept quiet about resuming the rivalry and hasn’t seemed too poised to put Missouri back on its schedule in any sport.
Kaine might be pandering to his former states for all we know. But if he has any chance of bringing back this rivalry, he might be able to switch Missouri — a state that has voted in favor of Republicans in recent presidential elections — from a red state to a blue state.
[FTW]
