So without a connection to get tickets, I searched on Craig’s List for a few weeks and looked on as people were attempting to sell nosebleed tickets that originally cost $15 for $90. The eBay price was even worse. With only a few days left leading up to the game, I was going to have to resort to buying off scalpers, which may or may not be legal in the state of Missouri.
Then I got a phone call from a guy on Wednesday who offered 4 tickets for $50 each. Now, if you’ve ever dealt with people on Craig’s List, you always have to be cautious of scams or the potential of getting robbed at gunpoint when you go to their shady apartment complex on the other side of the river.
Anyways, when I went to the seller’s office, he gave me these print-out tickets which definitely did not look legitimate, but he did show us is I.D. So if we did end up with bootleg tickets I was prepared to head to his house on Maryland Avenue and tell him about it.
We took the Metro on the way down to the stadium as we encountered peaceful, stoic Illini and Tiger fans. This would all change as we walked closer to the stadium and ran into a throng of tailgaters, scalpers, and random guys chilling outside and taking in the scene.
As we began our ascent to the nosebleed seats in Edward Jones, the simplistic chants began from each side:
“I-L-L! I-N-I!”
“M-I-Z! Z-O-U!”
Those chants went back and forth throughout the game – even in the restroom – but the latter would sound much more prominent as the contest went on.
I found out that contrary to other rivalries like Ohio State-Michigan or Auburn-Alabama, these fans don’t really hate each other. One would think that having a rivalry game at a neutral site is a terrible idea due to the impending fights/possible deaths due to opposing fans sitting in the same area as each other, but the atmosphere seemed like everyone was here for a good time.
One thing was clear from the opening kickoff: Missouri was a much better football team. Their masterful spread offense run by senior quarterback Chase Daniel looked virtually unstoppable as he hit Chase Coffman and Jeremy Maclin on intermediate routes and Jared Perry on a few deep balls. Sophomore running back Derrick Washington also impressed with 130 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on the night.
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