Kansas used the actual Civil War to hype up a college football game with Missouri

The University of Kansas recently released a viral pregame hype video ahead of the 122nd playing of the 'Border War' football game against the University of Missouri. According to reporting from Yahoo Sports and The New York Times, the video invoked Civil War history by reminding viewers that Missouri was a slave state. The promotional content gained significant traction online, with Yahoo Sports reporting that the video surpassed 23 million views. Coverage from major outlets including CBS Sports, USA Today, and Yahoo Sports emphasizes the negative reaction following the result. CBS Sports notes that this victory marks Missouri's fifth consecutive win in the Border War series.

USA Today highlights the reaction of Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz, who stated he was 'embarrassed for them' regarding the Civil War themes used in the Kansas video. Additionally, Yahoo Sports reports that college football fans have criticized the Jayhawks on social media, with some claiming that Kansas 'just rolled over' after the high-profile promotional campaign. Context for this event stems from the deep-seated rivalry between the two institutions, which kuathletics.com identifies as the 122nd meeting of the showdown. The intensity of the matchup is further evidenced by reports from KMBC, which described Kansas students waiting for hours in line to secure seats, and krcgtv.com, which noted that Missouri students made changes to their own campus during a period referred to as 'Hate Week.' The use of historical conflict as a sporting motivator has transformed a standard athletic rivalry into a broader conversation about the appropriateness of referencing slavery for game-day hype. Moving forward, observers will be monitoring the fallout from the viral video and the continuing dominance of Missouri in the series.

Rock M Nation and KU Sports are currently analyzing takeaways from the 38-21 loss and win, respectively. While the game has concluded, the discourse surrounding the 'Border War' branding and the specific references to the American Civil War continues to persist across sports media and social platforms. There are no further scheduled games mentioned, but the trend focuses on the aftermath of the viral content and the outcome of the second week of the college football season.