re: Why all the hate towards Mizzou?

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Read my edited post. I saw as many battle flags on trucks while living near College Station as I did just about anywhere else in the south.

Having lived there was one of the reasons I was not a huge fan of letting A&M into the conference. Everyone wanted TV exposure but living there I got more LSU games on TV than I did A&M games every year which was the reason I was against it.

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Are there Confederate Battle Flags still flying in Texas? I'm sure there are but not many. You will see Texas flags almost as often as US Flags though. Texans are proud of being Texans, we never let folks forget we fought and won our own independence and we are still a lot like our own country.

That said, outside of a few pockets (mainly in rural East Texas, you know the part that most resembles the Deep South) racism isn't very prevalent here. A&M probably adjusted to the Post Civil Rights era better than most. We elected our First Black Student Body President back in the Mid '70s. Our military and Corps of Cadets culture actually helped a lot here because the culture at A&M has always been it doesn't matter who your Daddy is or what you did in HS or if you were rich or poor or whatever. Everyone starts out as a Freshman and you are what you make of yourself. Doesn't mean there aren't Aggie racists, there are without question, but A&M adjusted to the idea of being color blind better than most. It also helps that Texas has a much smaller AA population percentage wise than a lot of Southern States, we have a significantly higher Hispanic population, and the only other Southern State as heavily influenced by growth from other States is Florida. That's very different than where my Mom is from in South Carolina where my family and most in the area have lived for well over a hundred years.

As to the OP, Mizzou just has to get over it. Earn your keep and you will get respected. If you ever expect everyone to accept you though you it isn't happening. Arkie and USC are still outsiders to many SEC folks. A&M is slowly earning respect and acceptance from some due to our solid first year but even if we win a Natty we will never be thought of as a "real" SEC school to some. That's fine. We are who we are and we pull our weight and then some.

Mizzou will be fine but if you expect to get your arse kissed it won't happen. The SEC is hyper competitive and plays rough. You have to step up in every aspect if you want to be more than an also ran. Personally I think the "Yankee" thing is just funny and a great nickname because it gets under your skin but it has an element of truth while not being really accurate.