Missouri just stomped Kansas 38-21 on Friday night in the Border War, and Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz wasted absolutely no time ripping into the Jayhawks’ wild, Civil War-themed hype video right after the final buzzer. That video, released just days before the game, had millions of views and created a firestorm, but Drinkwitz was quick to say the Tigers settled it all on the field.
The Wild Video and the Initial Take
That Kansas hype video was something else, right? It referenced the region’s intense history, even likening Missouri-based pro-slavery forces to villains and Kansas-born abolitionists like John Brown to heroes. Drinkwitz was clearly not having it, telling reporters he was “disappointed” with how Kansas’ social team characterized the matchup. He even called for “unity,” saying, “Everybody’s got complicated pasts. To make that an icon was bizarre to me.” He wasn’t wrong. It’s a football game! “I’m just glad this whole ‘right vs. wrong’ bullcrap that was started just got settled on a football field. It’s not even deeper than that,” he snapped.
“Embarrass Them at the End”
But Drinkwitz went even further, revealing his true feelings about Kansas referencing “Bleeding Kansas,” those armed clashes between John Brown’s abolitionists and pro-slavery Border Ruffians. The Border War rivalry is literally named after that conflict, so you know it runs deep, but the Tigers’ seventh-year boss felt the Jayhawks were in poor taste. Drinkwitz admitted he was “incensed” by Kansas’ social team and that he and his team felt compelled to “embarrass” its adversary. “I just wanted to let them know, ‘Dude, what are y’all doing,” Drinkwitz said. “This is a football game. It shouldn’t be bigger than that.” He even added, “Why are we stirring that bullcrap up? I was embarrassed for them, to be honest, and that’s why I tried to embarrass them at the end.” Yikes. Talk about a coach taking things personally!
What Now for the Border War?
So, what’s next for this incredibly heated Border War rivalry? Drinkwitz was pretty ambivalent about its future. “I don’t really care if it continues of not,” he said, flat out. “If they’re going to be weird about it, then what’s the point?” He made it clear: if they want to just play football and have a great rivalry, “awesome, let’s do it.” But if it’s going to be “deeper than that,” then, as he so eloquently put it, “we left Kansas bleeding again, so call it good.” You gotta wonder if Kansas will back off the history lessons for the next matchup.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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