Let Rivalries Live

We've all been there. At the end of some type of relationship (personal, business, etc.), sometimes we say things we wish we could take back later. We say them out of hurt or anger, but the things we say are more a knee-jerk reaction to an upsetting change and don't indicate how we really feel once we've stepped away from the situation.

Aggies and Longhorns never again? Really? NEVER?

That's how I feel about some of these rivals saying they will never play each other again. College fans, for the most part, don't like change. We love our rivalry games, and the idea of never seeing Texas play Texas A&M or never seeing Kansas play Missouri bums us out. We don't want to have to explain to our kids years from now how great these rivalries used to be.

Why can't these rivalries keep going? Is pride getting in the way? I know some non-conference schedules are booked for a few years, so I get that. Why not start making plans for down the road, though? Fans will miss these games. Both the schools leaving and the schools being left behind are being a little stubborn. Some more than others. No matter how much Texas A&M and Missouri try to sell their new "rivalry" with each other to us, no one is buying it. Texas at least still has Oklahoma, but Longhorn fans will still want a piece of A&M every year. Kansas still has Kansas State, but don't Jayhawk fans really want to beat Missouri more? Their seasons will seem empty without ancient rivals on the schedules in all sports.

What is Batman without The Joker?

Remember The Dark Knight? In the interrogation scene, The Joker told Batman he didn't want to kill him. He said he'd get bored without him and that Batman completed him. Then later in the film (sadly, the last time most of us saw Heath Ledger), The Joker echoed that sentiment when he said Batman wouldn't kill him and that they were destined to "do this forever."

That's how I feel about long time college rivals. They need to play forever. Every hero needs a villain. Rivals complete each other. When your team has a lousy season, doesn't a win over a rival almost make it all better? I think after a couple years of not playing, the athletic departments will hear from the fans about how much they miss their rivalry games. They'll come back.

For right now, I get the venom, especially when you're not a fan of the teams moving. I don't like Texas A&M or Missouri leaving the Big 12. I hate Syracuse and Pittsburgh leaving the Big East. I get why they did it, though. To be fair, when Marquette left Conference USA for the Big East, I loved it. Why? Marquette was going to a bigger conference where it would get more exposure. (Although, I also liked it because Marquette was preserving rivalries with Cincinnati and Louisville and restarting the rivalry with Notre Dame. Marquette didn't leave behind any true rivals in C-USA. So, there were two sides to that move for me.) So, I get why A&M and Missouri fans are fired up. Just don't ask me to be, because I'll miss the rivalry games that some schools are too proud to continue.

If I'm Missouri, though, I'd get started on some non-conference basketball contracts that include neutral site games in Kansas City. Get three six-year contracts with three schools: Kansas, Kansas State and one more (I don't know who: Iowa, Nebraska, UMKC, Missouri State, whatever). All three of those schools rotate home, away and Sprint Center games. That way, Missouri keeps playing its hoops rivals and maintains a presence in KC. It could go something like this:

Joke all you want, KU and Mizzou fans. You'll miss each other.

2012:
at Kansas
Kansas State at home
Team 3 in KC
2013:
Kansas at home
Kansas State in KC
at Team 3
2014:
Kansas in KC
at Kansas State
Team 3 at home

Syracuse and Pitt should do similar deals with teams like Georgetown, Villanova, Connecticut and/or West Virginia. And, for crying out loud, Texas and Texas A&M need to take a step back and realize they need to keep playing each other in all sports, especially football.

I'm taking a long (maybe permanent) break from suggesting which schools conferences need to chase and which conferences should team up. All I'm asking is to keep our rivalries going. The state of Texas needs Longhorn/Aggie hatred, Kansas City needs the Border War, and Batman definitely needs The Joker.