Teams spare no effort in rallying their fan bases, especially before rivalry games against hated foes. But Kansas just took it to another level.
In a recently posted hype video, Kansas football framed its rivalry with Missouri as a contest between “heroes and villains,” with multiple references to slavery and the Civil War.
“Love doesn’t exist here,” the narrator said. “Neither does mercy. This rivalry is different because it’s built on something much deeper than just school pride. It’s fueled by hatred passed down through generations. Our roots reach back to the Civil War, when blood was spilled over what you believed in and which side you stood on.”
Historic figures of the time are peppered throughout the video. Among those are abolitionist John Brown and, on the flip side, Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill, who gained infamy for the Lawrence Massacre, where Quantrill’s men killed at least 150 people in the town of Lawrence, Kansas.
Quantrill targeted the town for destruction due to its pro-abolition views and its reputation as a base for the Jayhawkers. This militia had launched raids into pro-slavery portions of western Missouri.
The narrator continued, “There are heroes and villains. Only allegiance decides their legacy. There’s right and wrong. There’s Kansas and Missouri. In this rivalry, passion has its colors — crimson and blue, gold and black. Colors that continue to clash. When we collide, it goes beyond the game.”
Reaction to the video was mixed; many fans took exception to the glorifying of John Brown.
“John Brown was one of the most evil men in American history,” one fan wrote.
“John Brown was a lawless terrorist who incited violence everywhere and ripped the country apart,” wrote another.
However, not everyone agreed.
“John Brown deserves respect. But stop turning KU-Mizzou into ‘Kansas fought for Black people, Missouri fought for slavery.’ Many Free-Staters acted from white self-interest, not Black equality. My history isn’t football trash talk, and Mizzou fans aren’t ‘pro-slavery,’” one fan opined.
Kansas and Missouri kick off at * PM EST on Friday night.