Another factor: we used to have a strong core of MO kids
Posted on: February 24, 2020 at 10:20:03 CT
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from all over the state. That certainly added to fan interest as folks followed their local high school stars in their college careers at Mizzou. Our failure to seal the borders and keep the best high school players coming to Mizzou has had a negative impact on fan loyalty. We used to have an "us against them" mentality as MO kids went up against the so-called blue bloods and bloodied their noses more often than not. Yes, we filled in the skill position gaps with players like Johnny Roland from Texas and Mel Gray from California, but the nucleus of our teams were usually made up of Missouri and East St. Louis kids. Really talented kids like Roger Wehrli, Joe Moore, James Wilder, Curtis Brown, Russ Washington, Andy Russell, Kellen Winslow, Eric Wright, Justin Smith, etc., etc., etc.
I think part of the blame lies in the fact that Missouri high school football, with a few exceptions, has lagged behind other states in recent years. It certainly doesn't compare to high school football in states like Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas, where Friday Night Lights is a huge deal. Plus, most of those states have spring football in one form or another, while Missouri doesn't.