For those of you who have never actually been to Columbia, Missouri...

Donate To GopherHole
GopherRock

GopherRock

GopherHole Straw Boss
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
4,200
Reaction score
536
Points
113
All of this talk about the Mizzou Tigers joining the Big Ten got me to thinking about sharing with you a recap of my trip to Columbia for a Mizzou game this past fall. Granted, the Tigers were on the wrong end of a 41-7 horsewhipping at the hands of Texas, but I was thoroughly unimpressed with the town and the stadium.

All the lurid details of the trip can be found here (along with all my other trip recaps, college sports or otherwise), but here are some excerpts about the boring-as-hell trip down, the stadium, and the town.

I thought that I-70 between Kansas City and Columbia is a lot like I-94 across northwestern Wisconsin. Rolling country, lots of trees, and the colors were very pretty...
Click to expand...

...You wouldn't know that Farout Field is there if you weren't looking for it. It sits in an unassuming hollow below the main campus. The stadium itself is nothing more than Vanderbilt Stadium but with a slightly larger capacity and four light towers in the corners. I was thoroughly unimpressed by my illicit hop through the gates. Next, we drove into and through the campus, and lo and behold we find the Mizzou Bookstore. After kniving for a parking spot, we go in there and find all Mizzou gear 25% off! Yes, everything. I pick up a nice sweatshirt on sale and Gator gets some postcards. I find that the bookstore is EXTREMELY busy for a Friday afternoon, but I don't think anything of it...
Click to expand...

About 11:00, a section of the Marching Mizzou came into the already-packed bar. This was about a basketball-sized pep band, and they played a spread of Mizzou music, including what sounded like their main fight song, a few other traditional songs, and the Missouri Waltz. Also, a band designed to fill Mizzou Arena with noise is REALLY REALLY LOUD when jammed into a bar.
Click to expand...

Mizzou claims to be the origin of what is considered homecoming, although I've heard the same claim come from Baylor and Illinois. Either way, I found it strange that just about every business in town had some sort of Greek letters taped to the outside wall or painted on the windows. What was that supposed to mean? Are Greeks not from those houses persona non grata in that establishment during that week?
Click to expand...

I am aware that this was homecoming, and you have to have the alumni band in cahoots with the regular band, but do you REALLY need them to do the whole pre-game march stuff? Also, could the announcer for their performance be any more depressing than he is? If there was any energy in the stadium, that guy proceeded to pull all of it out of the crowd, so that by the time the Tigers came out of the south tunnel, it was DEAD DEAD DEAD in there.

Granted, the team didn't give the crowd anything to cheer about. The Longhorns had a whuppin' on their minds, and they wasted no time administering one. Mizzou had one long drive, but otherwise a selection of three-and-outs and turnovers. It was 35-7 at the half, with the game not being nearly as close as the score indicated. People were streaming towards the exits. I thought it was for obvious reasons, but I also learned that Mizzou is an open-gate stadium. So long as you get stamped and have a ticket stub, you can come and go as you please. This is the only stadium that I know of where you can do this.
Click to expand...
 

What is the difference between Iowa City, Champaign, West Lafayette and Columbia? To me, absolutely nothing. They're all midwestern college towns hosting very large schools.

Mizzou's football field wasn't anything special but neither is Northwestern's. And I think most Mizzou fans would claim they are a basketball school and their new arena is nicer than half of the Big Ten's.
 

i dont want missouri soley because their colors are the same as the boilermakers
 


I've been to the Mizzou campus twice. The only Big Ten campus I've visited aside from the U of M is Madison. (I've driven by the Northwestern campus but I won't count that). The Mizzou campus is really nice and I remember at the time thinking very much that it could fit right in with the Big Ten in terms of student body and atmosphere. I went to a Kansas - Mizzou basketball game and the atmosphere was great (Paul Pierce was on the KU basketball team to give you a clue as to when I was visiting). Didn't make it to a football game. It's kind of nice that it's a bit further south than most Big Ten schools - could make for a slightly warmer late October/November road trip. I'd be all for Mizzou being the 12th Big Ten school!!!
 


Nothing can be worse than West Lafayette.
 


koppco1 said:
+1. An absolute craphole with South Bend not being much better.
Click to expand...

Surprised?? They ARE both in Indiana last time i checked. wisconsin is full of *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#bags, but at least they don't try to be a southern state.
 

ChemEGopher said:
Nothing can be worse than West Lafayette.
Click to expand...

South Bend is way worse. As for West Lafayette, I thought the area surrounding campus was nice. But if you stayed out by the airport or Interstate, then it is Cedar Rapids-esque.
 



I did some plumbing on a hotel on the Mizzou campus, The Missouri girls seemed to fit right in with the Iowa and Wisconsin girls. So going by that, Missouri would be a great fit for the Big Ten!
 

Bring Mizzou on board!!! Now!!

As I posted the other day fellow Holer's, it makes more logical sense to have another Midwest area team in the conference rather than an eastern team. Let Pitt, Rutgers and ND go form their own league somewhere else.

Go Gopher's!!!!!!

Beat Iowa state by 40 points!!!!!!!
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom