Wow, very insightful stuff.
I think only one of my (many) cousins went to Mizzou, it never seemed like a big "thing to do" with the people I knew (mostly friends and family, but still). I know on the hoops side of athletics, a lot of local kids would go to SLU for college, not Mizzou. I have a close friend in Atlanta whose daughter just graduated from Mizzou, so he and I have discussed the Tigers at length.
I know Mizzou was pumped up to get Burden, not sure if that will be a one-off success story or if they will be able to continue the momentum.
By the way, I know that a lot of the Catholic schools used to be male-only or female-only, my mom went to "St. Anthony" and I don't even know if it still exists. ****, I don't even think my old church (St. John the Baptist), which was only a few blocks west of St. Mary High School, is open any more. I think the building is there, but they closed the church itself, which is where I was baptized.
Glad to see the Catholic church is still doing OK in football, though...