Farmageddon: Farma-get-it-over-with

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Iowa State and Kansas State are set to meet at Arrowhead Stadium this Saturday – the first installment of “Farmageddon”.

The first one should be the last one.

From the time the game plan was announced prior to last season at a press conference with former Kansas State puppet/scam artist/hidden contract czar/athletic director Bob Krause, former Chiefs president/CEO Carl Peterson and Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard, the idea has been a disaster.

It simply makes no sense.

Well, I say that, but I guess I’m underestimating the hated rivalry between the Cyclones and the Wild…..what?  What’s that?  You say there isn’t a bitter rivalry between the schools? 

Surely those who made this thing happen knew that.

Nonetheless, this Arrowhead Stadium idea is a good one because, between the schools, even Arrowhead will be hard-pressed to find enough seats in its 80,000-seat stad…..what?  What’s that?  You say only about 30,000 tickets have been sold and that the athletic departments for both schools would be ecstatic to get a solid Bill Snyder Family Stadium crowd of 41 and change?

I’m sure some research went into gauging fans’ interest in driving to Kansas City from Manhattan, Ames and surrounding areas to watch a couple of teams that will be lucky to win enough games to qualify for a bowl game…combined.*

*That would be three more wins, which could be tough considering I picked Iowa State to go 0-8 in Big 12 play (that could change, however, with Baylor’s Robert Griffin done for the season.  So, there’s one, maybe.).

Maybe, I’m just looking at this thing all wrong.  Maybe it is a good thing.  I mean, the folks out at Arrowhead, this is what they want.  They want more collegiate games at the stadium.  It has been a dream of Carl Peter…..what?  What’s that?  Carl’s gone?  Who is this Scott Pioli?   New general manager?  He doesn’t seem the type to be all that excited about college teams playing his venue?* 

*He should be scheduling KU, K-State, Missouri, Pitt State and Rockhurst to play at Arrowhead in order to take attention away from what have become regular Sunday slaughters by the (semi-)pro team.

No matter, I’m sure the Chiefs will be gracious hosts…what?  What’s that?  Fans will “only” pay $22 just for the right to park?  At a college game?  I’m sure many of them will find that a bargain! After all, both Cyclones and Wildcats fans should be looking at this weekend as their exotic bowl destination.

No rivalry.  Check.  Take economic dollars out of each school’s towns.  Check.  Burden fans with extra costs instead of rewarding them.  Check.

For K-State, look, this is just another brick in the wall of a season that makes no sense. 

In his Tuesday press conference, Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder summed up the first third of the year by saying he didn’t know why the team had played in California or Louisiana.  He was also gracious in saying the Chiefs have always been good hosts.  But, Bill had to be referencing the old regime.

Virtually nobody wants to see this contract run its course, and it shouldn’t.  Even the Kansas v. Missouri tilt at Arrowhead, and there have been some great ones in the series’ short history, has lost a little luster with time.  If that’s the case, not only does ISU/KSU have no shot.  It should be shot.

Jokes about the series (including its being tabbed “Farmageddon”) began almost immediately after it was announced, and rightfully so.  It is just too bad that the new Kansas State administration has to bear the brunt of them.  It wasn’t their fault this thing happened.  K-State athletic director John Currie can’t be blamed for the fact that those before him had no foresight and even less self-respect when it came to the school's image.

The Chiefs announced Wednesday the addition of over 100 new hand sanitizer stations throughout the stadium as part of the ongoing renovations and attempt to alleviate worries regarding the H1N1 flu virus. 

That’s good, but better would be Iowa State and K-State figuring out how to wash their hands of this agreement.

Since it's too late to move this year's game, which is Iowa State's home game technically, it means Iowa State needs to buck up and agree to head to Manhattan next season.

Send your comments to curtiskitchen@810whb.com.