As the Missouri Tigers prepare to defend their five-game win streak, a suspected typo was found in Mizzou’s game notes, which caught a little attention.
Since the SEC-imposed “rivalry” started in 2014, the Missouri Tigers hold a 5-3 edge over the Razorbacks. While many shrug-off the rivalry as untrue, it still maintains some momentum, as the programs are in neighboring states.
Last year, Tigers’ linebacker Eric Beisel made remarks which drew the ire of many a Hogs fan, but the Tigers backed Beisel in the second half, as the team rallied from a deficit and unseated the Razorbacks.
During the 2017 SEC Media Day, Beisel was again on record, referring to the Razorbacks as “soft kittens,” and emphasized “Kansas” in Arkansas. So, it would stand to reason that some would question whether this recent blunder was truly a mistake or an attempt to fan the fire.
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Earlier on Wednesday, Andrew Hutchinson of Hawgs247, spotted the mistake, and questioned the Tigers’ intent.
Check out Missouri’s game notes... “Bert Bielema”
— Andrew Hutchinson (@NWAHutch) November 22, 2017
Are the Tigers trying to stoke the flames of the heated “Battle Line Rivalry” (presented by Shelter Insurance)? pic.twitter.com/Z5fH4J5MZw
I have to say, that I’ve heard the embattled coach referred to by both varieties of first name – Bret and Bert or Burt, depending on how you’d spell it, but when I thought it was Bret, I then heard some variation of Burt, and remained confused.
Perhaps some use the incorrect spelling and pronunciation of Bielema’s first name to throw a little jab at the Razorbacks’ program, but it was later clarified by Shawn Davis of mutigers.com, also via Twitter, that it was a “complete and honest typo.”
Complete and honest typo on my part. Certainly didn't do it on purpose. No harm meant. Apologies to Coach and Arkansas https://t.co/0kSmuE7GTd
— Shawn Davis (@ShawnTD77) November 22, 2017
Next: Tigers with plenty of bowl options
Regardless of what you call Bielema, rivalries are fun. Whether Arkansas will grow into a true rivalry for Missouri remains to be seen; right now, the Tigers lead the series and have a win-streak to maintain, even though they’ve achieved their goal of bowling. We’ll have our game preview later this week.