KU students show school spirit ahead of ‘Border Showdown’

LAWRENCE (KSNT) – The ‘Border Showdown’ is back this Saturday as the Kansas Jayhawks will cross the state line into Missouri to take on the Tigers.

It’s the first time these two teams have played each other in football since 2011.

Across KU’s campus, students are getting into the spirit by exing out ‘M’s’ on signs.

“I think it’s fun when you walk around campus, it’s fun to see the spirit that everyone has,” Carlee Hansmeier said, a student at KU.

“I agree. I’m pretty sure the last time this game happened, the KU-Mizzou game, was 14 years ago,” Stella Counter said, a KU student. “So seeing all the ‘M’s’ crossed out, I think it’s super cool.”

This is about more than just a football game. This rivalry is rooted in the leadup to the Civil War, with a debate about whether the Kansas Territory would be admitted as a ‘free state’ or a ‘slave state.’

Boone Dodson, a curator for the Kansas Museum of History, says that some of the animosity carries over to this day.

“There’s been a lot of arguments from Missourians, for example of how brutal they were, versus our argument of how brutal Missourians were towards us,” Dodson said. “Once you talk to both sides, you just see that they’re kind of pointing fingers even to this day as to who was brutal, who deserved the hatred more.”

He’s happy to see now that the ‘Border Showdown’ is something bringing people together.

“The Border War being what it was, with a lot of violence and a lot of bloodshed at the time, it’s good to see that something like that could be turned into something positive with a good sport and where people are, from both sides, gathering in the same location to be able to watch the sport,” Dodson said.

Saturday’s game kicks off in Columbia at 2:30 p.m.

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