Tim Kaine’s vice presidential platform is simple. Create more jobs, focus on foreign policy, and make sure Missouri and Kansas play football against each other again.
Hillary Clinton’s running mate says he’ll find a way to revive the Mizzou-Kansas rivalry
Finally, a candidate who won’t back down from the big issues.
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The still-ferocious rivalry between the Tigers and Jayhawks, better known as the “Border War,” dates back to 1891. However, the two teams have not met on the gridiron since 2011 after Missouri left Kansas behind in the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference.
Kansas cut off talks of rekindling the annual showdown as a non-conference game, but the Kansas City Star thinks there’s one man who could unite the two universities in athletic conflict once more. New Mizzou head coach Barry Odom said this summer he’d like to renew the series.
Kaine was born in Overland Park, Kan., and educated at Missouri before becoming governor of and then a U.S. senator for the state of Virginia. Despite living outside of the Midwest since 1979, it’s not a stretch to suggest he understands the cultures of both fan bases.
His connection to college football stands in stark contrast to his running mate, Hillary Clinton. Clinton has been relatively quiet when it comes to sports pandering, whereas Kaine just earned himself a spot on SB Nation’s list of top political sports fan panderers when we next update it.
Is Kaine being genuine? Missouri governor Jay Nixon seems to think so. He’d have to convince the higher-ups in Kansas to reignite the rivalry, but it would be tough to reject any overtures coming down from a politician one heartbeat away from running the country — if he were to find himself in that spot.
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