Who said the Missouri-Kansas rivalry was dead? Many people, actually. So many, that I began to believe it. But a game could be played in the near future.
When I first saw the hot take, I was very skeptical. The last we’d heard, Kansas had no interest in being mentioned in the same sentence as Missouri, let alone play a game against the Tigers.
In the wake of the recent hurricanes, both schools have reportedly been communicating and negotiating a plan to play a game as early as next Sunday, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO.
At the very least, some portion of the game’s proceeds will go to benefit hurricane relief efforts, in the wake of two recent major hurricanes, Harvey and Irma. While Irma made a fairly significant impact in the State of Florida and the Keys, Harvey made a major impact in Texas, especially around the Houston area.
A third hurricane, Maria, has left United States’ territory Puerto Rico in an ongoing state of devastation, as the political environment over relief efforts continues to churn.
While the final details have yet to be hammered out, or at least made public, it remains to be known which area the programs will agree to aid in relief efforts, or if the proceeds might be evenly distributed. We’ll have more details as they become available.
REPORT: MU and KU are in ongoing negotiations to play a game at Sprint Center next Sunday for hurricane relief efforts.
— Carrington Harrison (@cdotharrison) October 12, 2017
While the opportunity to see both basketball programs face each other for the first time in a number of years is intriguing, it’s also heart warming that in this instance, the differences in the rivalry, at least among the two programs, have been set aside to join together and make a positive impact for those in need.
Next: 'Tiger takeaways' against Kentucky
Undoubtedly, fans will look forward to at least a small sampling of the rivalry that they have been denied, since Missouri moved from the Big 12 to the SEC. As long as both programs are successful through the regular season, there’s also the possibility that they could meet again in the NCAA Tournament.