RY
THE RIVALRY
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PERSPECTIVES (CONTINUED FROM 8)
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Rap artist Tech N9ne performs in front of a packed house at The Granada Sept 11. Tech said that because one of his first performances was at The Granada, Lawrence is another home to him. He also said that he supported both sides of the Border Showdown.
the letter in gold, hang at Chappell's. Pennants from the 1920s from both schools defy age and are preserved on site. A 1951 felt Kansas football schedule hangs near the entrance J.V. Sikes' Jayhawks capped their 8-2 season that year with a 41-28 Homecoming victory against Missouri.
But one of Chappell's most treasured belongings is a photo printout of Budd Stallworth with a personalized note Chappell loves to recite. It recalls the late-February game in 1972 when Stallworth scored the second-most points in a game in Kansas history against Missouri.
--said Kaliko, whose real name is Samuel Watson. "I'd have to give it to Lawrence if it was between The Granada and The Blue Note."
"To my good friend Jim Chappell," it reads, "I remember the night you held me to 50 points. Always, Bud Stallworth."
Chappell chuckles every time he reads that. He's as proud of that game as any Jayhawk would be.
To attend a concert featuring Kansas City rap artists Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko is to witness chaos personified. Their machine-gun delivery and infectious, crowd-engaging pace mirror the energy that's between the walls of most sporting venues.
The two have toured together now for more than 10 years and have turned local music venues on their heads in both Lawrence and Columbia, Mo., for upwards of 50 occasions.
"It's just psycho energy in Lawrence,"
For Tech N9ne whose real name is Aaron Yates, Lawrence is another home to him. It was at The Granada
where Tech was given one of his first opportunities to perform live.
"What we built down at MU was something massive, too, but it was not my home," Tech said.
"I think rivalries are necessary, man. In a way it can be exciting. In another way it can be deadly ..."
Tech said that aside from the Chiefs, he isn't much of a sports fan, though
TECH N9NE Kansas City rap artist
he supports both sides of the Border Showdown regardless. He recalls tailgating with Missouri fans and attending parties on campus in Lawrence.
If public fornication and substance consumption in certain places in the area were fit for print in this paper, he and Kaliko would have even more to
share.
Kaliko, on the other hand, is often by a television or even in the stadium when the Border Showdown is contested.
He grew up near the Kansas-Missouri border and said he became a Kansas fan. Not that he holds much resentment towards
Missouri. His mother and sister both attended the school.
He does, however, have to deal with his own crew members, who are very Tiger-centric.
"We just went to Amsterdam and Switzerland, and I wore my KU
sweatshirt there, and all my boys were giving me problems," Kaliko said. "Everybody's a MU fan over here. The colors are just more boring to me."
Banter aside, the troupe finds itself in the middle of the Border Showdown with annual stops — between trips to Europe and Australia — on each side always producing a story or two.
For Tech, the Border Showdown is another rivalry. Something fun,something that calls out at our youngest urges.
"I think rivalries are necessary, man," he said. "In a way it can be exciting. In another way it can be deadly. But in this case, with sports and everything, I don't think that it should be deadly. I think it's all in fun. It takes everybody back to high school or junior high school when they were rooting for their team when the opposing team came. I think it's healthy. I think people need that."
So what, if anything, can we take away from stories such as these?
Well, perhaps that the Border Showdown simply produces differing perspectives for everyone.
For some, the nature of its rivalry is intriguing, if not humorous. For those involved, it often elicits performances in which athletes step out above and beyond themselves — at times in a way uncharacteristic of their day-to-day modus operandi.
And for more still, it produces a wealth of memories fit for preservation. Be it a T-shirt (that this author owns) commemorating Kansas' 2003 football toppling of then-ranked Missouri or a library of relics in a restaurant an hour away, there will always be stories. Stories to tell, stories to relive, stories to add.
— Edited by Lauren Cunningham
THE UNIVERSITY OF AIRY KANSAS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16,2009