Is Missouri Southern Enough to be a Member of the SEC? (Tips for New SEC Fans)

If you've been following college football's conference realignment shake-up at all, you may have noticed that the University of Missouri has left the Big 12 to join the SEC. (Side note: The Big 12 is laughable, but I digress.) This move was made because the SEC had just recently added Texas A&M University as the thirteenth team, and an odd number of teams presented a scheduling nightmare. Now the SEC stands at 14 teams and scheduling becomes easier. However, a question: Is Missouri a "Southern" school?

Looking at it on the map, Missouri doesn't easily fall into any specific category:

There are conflicting opinions on the Southern bona fides of Missouri. Historically, Missouri was a slave state, but it was conflicted on whether to join the Confederacy or Union. There were two different outcomes at two different votes, and Missouri ended up with two different governments for a time, so history doesn't produce a clear answer.

It's a leading alcohol and tobacco producing state, so that helps bring it into the Southern camp. St. Louis is also a big BBQ city, so that puts it even further into the Southern category. BBQ is a big deal in the South, and I would have to say that Missouri fulfills the BBQ requirement for admission.

Ultimately, I think the University of Missouri will fit in well in the SEC. Its fans hate Kansas, so that's a good start. Hopefully, Mizzou will have a nice rivalry with Arkansas, and we'll get some good games. It's going to be up to the Mizzou fans to really step up their game now that they are in the SEC. Here are some helpful tips from Permanent Press on how to be good SEC fans:

1. Demand your coach be fired if he does not win against your rival (See: Richt, Mark).

2. Start cheating immediately. (See: Newton, Cam).

3. Start hating Tim Tebow.

4. Internal conspiracies and a coup d'état are necessary every so often. (See: Auburn and/or LSU)

Welcome to the SEC, Mizzou. Oh, and don't think that South Carolina fans have forgotten about the 2005 Independence Bowl. You have a beat-down coming for that one.